Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Stalemate in vote on Maori seat

Bay of Plenty Times
4 Sep, 2008 09:01 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


A committee established to forge a meaningful partnership between Maori and Tauranga City Council has failed to vote with one voice on the biggest challenge since it formed eight years ago.
It was unable to reach a consensus on whether Maori should get a separate seat on council.
Maori members successfully pushed
for a clear-cut vote on the issue when a diluted response seemed the likely outcome of yesterday's meeting. It resulted in the tangata whenua/council committee backing the establishment of a separate Maori Ward by a vote of 3-1, with the three councillors abstaining.
Mayor Stuart Crosby and Crs Rick Curach, Murray Guy and Catherine Stewart all felt they were being put in a difficult position by being asked to vote on the issue before it went to council.
Cr Guy and Mr Crosby said they had not made up their minds and wanted to keep an open mind, although Mr Crosby voted against a Maori ward on the basis that he never abstained. Pio Kawe defended calling for the vote, saying it was the only opportunity Maori members of the committee would get.
"You get your chance when it goes back to the council."
Council chief executive Stephen Town said abstaining allowed councillors to reserve their decision until later in the process.
Yesterday's vote now goes into the mix for a council decision in November and could influence debate later this month when council decides whether to stick with the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system for the 2010 elections, or switch to the single transferable vote (STV) system.
In a strong signal about how some councillors could deal with the politically loaded issue of a separate Maori seat, Mr Crosby was the only person to vote against STV.
Councillors and and non-elected Maori members of the committee agreed that STV added more weight to each vote and increased the chances of minority groups like Maori getting candidates elected on to council.
Mr Crosby argued that STV was confusing and failed the constituency by not encouraging people to vote.
On the issue of a separate Maori seat, tangata whenua members of the committee argued strongly in favour of a Maori ward, and enlisted one of Environment Bay of Plenty's three Maori constituency members Raewyn Bennett to support their case.
Mrs Bennett said there were clear links between Maori lack of political power and their poverty. Research indicated that if Maori saw a purpose to voting then they would vote.
She said a Maori ward would fully realise Maori potential without taking anything away from the majority. Referring to the city council's current systems of participation for Maori, she said Maori should not merely be consulted.
Mr Kawe said Maori could only recommend and not participate in final council decisions. "That is the point we are constantly making."
Ngaronoa Reweti-Ngata said that as much as Maori felt they were a part of the community, nothing came back to them unless they fought for it.
Respect came from being acknowledged and not patronised, and giving Maori the ability to share their views, she said. Cr Rick Curach said no one was questioning the benefits of having Maori representation, it was the process of getting there that was the issue.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM

The man apologised to his victim, but pleaded not guilty.

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM
Downhill mountain bikers impress on world stage

Downhill mountain bikers impress on world stage

07 Jul 06:38 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP