Bob Edlin: Co-Governance is being promoted by a tribal leader in Porirua....

How co-governance is being promoted by a tribal leader in Porirua – but where’s the mention of elections?

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik – employing a challenging mix of English and te reo in his prose – has written an article in The Post to enthuse about the Porirua Climate Assembly.

The article is headed:

Porirua showing world better way to do democracy – Te tiriti-style

Modlik’s enthusiasm is not surprising. He was one of the initiative’s architects and has long supported the citizens’ assembly concept.

He writes:

Last week Porirua handed over a precious taonga to leaders of our rohe, our region, and our nation. It’s not a set of climate change recommendations to be glanced at and forgotten.

It is the culmination of a 3½-half-year commitment to do democracy differently — and better — guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi and powered by a community in solidarity.

Just to clarify the nature of taonga that was handed over, it was a set of climate change recommendations.

It was handed over to a forum of Porirua’s leaders at Pātaka Museum.

Modlik described The Porirua Climate Assembly as the first of its kind in the world,

… a dual-chamber citizens’ assembly grounded in tikanga, whakapapa and relationship, not just rules.

It represents a new blueprint for how we, as a nation, can face the climate crisis while honouring our founding partnership — Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti walking forward together, side by side.

The assembly had been established in 2021

… to invite everyday people into deep deliberation on climate change — to ask them not only to learn and engage, but to lead.

Modlik tells of hearing from “50 everyday Porirua residents chosen through a fair and representative process that originally targeted 12,000”.

Alongside them, our mana whenua chamber upheld the tikanga, values and obligations of Ngāti Toa Rangatira to this whenua — our home.

Together, these two chambers wove a shared vision — one that centres rangatahi, protects te taiao, builds local resilience, and empowers communities to act. This is what democracy looks like when it’s truly of the people, by the people, for the people.

It seems the 50 everyday Porirua residents form one chamber, but how they were chosen from the originally targeted 12,000 is not explained.

An unstated number of Ngati Toa tribal people presumably form the second chamber. The way the members of this chamber were chosen is not explained, either.

Modlik goes on:

We’ve seen our empowered rangatahi not only show up but stand tall. They’ve led wānanga, created their own visual identity as “Future Unity,” and are now forming a Youth Advisory Group so their voices remain embedded in decision-making going forward. That is next Gen leadership. That is legacy.

We’ve seen everyday citizens sit alongside scientists, former politicians, iwi leaders and international experts — and not just hold their own, but shape bold, practical recommendations for change. From regenerative land use to community climate “flying squads”, their ideas reflect both aspiration and grounded local knowledge.

Modlik then brings “the Treaty”, “co-governance” and “partnership” into considerations without using those words:

As mana whenua, Ngāti Toa has always had an obligation to protect and uplift our people and our place. This kaupapa is a natural extension of that responsibility. The health of our harbour, the strength of our communities, the wellbeing of our mokopuna — these are all connected. And they require partnership. Not just in name, but in principled practice.

This assembly has proven what’s possible when we honour Te Tiriti not as a historical document, but as a living foundation. It shows that democracy doesn’t have to be adversarial, distant, or broken. It can be relational, inclusive, and transformative. It can be local people lifting where they stand, owning the answers to the biggest questions of our time.

Porirua has lit a path that others in Aotearoa — and the world — can follow. This is not a one-off. It’s a model for what comes next.

In his concluding sentences, Modlik talks of handing over the assembly’s recommendations and says:

This is the voice of the people and place. This is what real, treaty-based democracy can look like.

We should sit up and take notice, when a “real, treaty-based democracy” is being discussed, because there is a strong support for such a concept in this country.

Among other things, we should note that words like “vote” and “elect” are absent from the article.

Democracy – which means “rule by the people” – may be defined as a system of government that not only allows but requires the participation of the people in the political process to function properly.

But a slew of questions is raised. For example, which residents of a country, state, or town should be empowered to participate in the decision-making and what legal or legislative mechanisms should be created to prevent the democracy from becoming “the tyranny of the majority?”

Opinions vary, but most political scientists agree that the majority of democracies are based on foundational elements which include: :

An Electoral System: Since according to the principle of popular sovereignty, the people are the source of all political power, a clearly defined system of conducting free and fair elections is essential.

The different types of democracy include a direct democracy, which originated in Ancient Greece during the 5th century BC. Sometimes called “pure democracy,” this is considered the oldest non-authoritarian form of government.

In a direct democracy, all laws and public policy decisions are made directly by a majority vote of the people, rather than by the votes of their elected representatives.

But Modlik seems to have different ideas.

An article in the Post last week says:

Brainstorming sessions on climate change from a100-person citizens’ assembly has come up with recommendations including two Porirua council seats for members of a proposed youth council and expanding the city’s access to renewable energy.

The Te Tiriti o Waitangi-based citizens’ assembly on how to respond to climate change was part of an initiative launched in 2021 by local iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira and deliberative democracy group The People Speak.

The assembly handed their recommendations to a forum of Porirua’s leaders at Pātaka Museum on Tuesday evening.

The article goes on:

The assembly was evenly split into two groups, one for 50 tangata whenua and the other for 50 Porirua residents from different backgrounds including long-time locals, new migrants, GPs and grandmothers.

Ah – plainly, we are banging on about 50:50 co-governance.

And no, elections did not come into the mix. Rather:

The residents were randomly selected taking the city’s demographic makeup into account, from a pool recruited through signing up at local events or responding to a letter drop to 12,000 households.

The assembly’s other recommendations included investing in resilient infrastructure, investigating incentives like carbon credits for private landowners to encourage native afforestation, continuing environmental education and awareness, and developing action plans involving people across generations in Porirua.

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.