Mike Butler: Voters still don't want Maori wards

Twenty-four of the 42 councils that were required to hold a referendum on Maori wards voted them out while the remaining 18 voted to keep them.

A total of 45 councils had imposed Maori wards after the Ardern government outlawed council votes on the issue in 2021.

One council, Kaipara, voted to disestablish its Maori ward when enabled to do so last year when the right to vote on the issue was restored.

Bob Edlin: LGNZ chief to step down in August.............

LGNZ chief to step down in August – but some councils have already left (because it’s ‘far left’, a councillor says)

Local Government New Zealand President Sam Broughton paid tribute to Susan Freeman-Greene’s leadership after she announced she will be stepping down as chief executive at the end of August 2025

She has been in the job for almost five years.

Bob Edlin: Abuse hurled at Mayors and Councillors......

Check out the abuse hurled at Rotorua’s mayor over ‘sacred’ lake and a sewerage pipe – but can we brand it “racist”?

The word “racism” was missing from the headline on a Post report by Joel Maxwell – Māori councillors gather for challenging year in face of rampant abuse, ‘decimation’.

But the first of three points highlighted declared:

Cam Slater: Luxon Gave Councils a Well Deserved Kicking

Christopher Luxon has been hitting them out of the park in the past week. Can he keep up the momentum? He will if he doesn’t get squeamish or squirrelly.

Last week was a real ripper for Christopher Luxon. He made headlines for smacking Chlöe Swarbrick around the laughing gear, telling her that he believed that Māori ceded sovereignty to the Crown. Although it was an unconvincing utterance, it was however categoric with no wriggle room.