However, the proposal does not give Maori the dedicated seats around the council table some iwi wanted. Chairman Basil Morrison said the LGC did not have the power to create Maori seats so the proposal for Maori boards was as far as it could go.
Mr Marsden co-chaired the working group with former Mayor Wayne Brown that proposed a Far North unitary authority with three out of nine council seats dedicated to Maori. That proposal involved genuine partnership, he said.
"If people don't want that, we'll just go back to doing what we do and leave local government to do what it does."
Simply relying on the general vote to see which Maori happened to be voted onto the council would not provide the leadership needed to drive Northland forwards, Mr Marsden said.
Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau said Maori were "really disappointed" as the proposed board lacked legal clout and the council was not obliged to follow its recommendations.
However, he conceded the LGC could not consider the dedicated seats Maori had been working towards with the Far North District Council.
"We are not satisfied, but there is room for us to work on this proposal. It's not the end of the world for us. We will get together and put in a substantial submission," Mr Tau said.
Ngati Hine leader Pita Tipene likened the Maori representation proposal to the chiefs' description of British resident James Busby in 1835 as "a man of war without guns".
However, he strongly supported the kaupapa of local government reform in Northland, saying the status quo was unacceptable.
"This doesn't go as far as I would have liked but it has changed the game," Mr Tipene said.
He also called for stronger local representation than the currently proposed community boards and for an extension to the submissions period, which coincided with Christmas and Waitangi Day.
Mr Tipene noted the proposal was silent on council-controlled organisations, such as Northland Inc, which would be crucial to the region's future development.
Similar arrangements to the LGC's proposals for a new Northland Council already exist at the Greater Wellington and Hawke's Bay regional councils. While the LGC does not have the power to create dedicated Maori seats, existing councils do - as will the new Northland Council if it goes ahead.