The Māui ki te Raki Māori Constituency is Charles Lambert's third electorate in as many terms, and he hopes to ensure council engagement with the community. Photo / NZME
The Māui ki te Raki Māori Constituency is Charles Lambert's third electorate in as many terms, and he hopes to ensure council engagement with the community. Photo / NZME
New Māori ward councillors for Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Regional Councils say there is still a way to go to build partnerships with Māori in local government and ensure community engagement.
Voters in the new Takitimu Māori ward for Hastings District Council have provisionally elected three newcomers to localgovernment- Renata Nepe, Ana Apatu and Kellie Jessup.
Nepe said his focus was the Treaty of Waitangi and he said Māori seats on local councils were important to live up to the Treaty of Waitangi partnership.
"I think some people are misinformed or misinterpret the intentions of Māori. We don't want to take over, we just want to ensure that the Treaty is known by all, that the Treaty is upheld and that our country is looked after and sustained for future generations."
He said there remained a "long, long road ahead of us" to honour the Treaty, but "we are in good times" and there were now a lot of opportunities to make big positive changes now.
He said a low voter turnout across the board, but particularly in the Takitimu Māori ward was "pretty shocking" and an indication that there needed to be changes made to make the voting process more user-friendly.
Nepe said the variety of backgrounds between the three new Takitimu councillors would benefit the council.
"We come from different walks of life, we bring different skill sets, we bring different dynamics that I think will actually complement each other really well," he said.
Renata Nepe said the Treaty of Waitangi was a strong focus of his and more Māori Ward seats were one of the best ways that the Treaty partnership could be honoured. Photo / NZME
Apatu had been at home with Covid over the election weekend but she said she was excited to be representing the Takitimu ward.
She said the three new councillors had the opportunity to give an example of what could be achieved with Māori wards.
"I think those councils have had enough pressure put upon them by the public as well, it is interesting they have lagged behind."
She said the three Takitimu councillors would complement one another at the table.
"We have built up a good relationship already leading into this, so we're all determined to build on that," she said.
Kellie Jessup could not be reached for comment.
Preliminary results show Ana Apatu elected to the Takitimu Māori Ward for Hastings District Council. She said the successful candidates complemented the skills of one another. Photo / Supplied
Thompson Hokianga, new councillor in the Māui ki te Tonga Constituency for Hawke's Bay Regional Council, said regional and Hastings Māori wards will help encourage other councils to follow suit, but there will be "a spotlight" and pressure on the new councillors.
Preliminary Māui ki te Raki Māori constituency councillor Charles Lambert said he was disappointed by the low voter turnout in his electorate and said he hoped to be proactive to facilitate council engagement with the community.
