By RNZ
Reversing councils’ ability to decide on Māori wards is “complete overreach by central government”, Local Government New Zealand says.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown confirmed on Thursday the Government’s approach to coalition promises between all three parties to bring back a requirement to allow a referendum on Māori wards.
It would mean councils that brought the wards in under Labour’s legislation would need to either scrap them, or hold a new referendum on them.
The results of those referendums would be binding and take effect from the 2028 local government term.
Local Government New Zealand president Sam Broughton had previously said all wards should be treated the same, and stuck to that position again on Thursday afternoon.
“We think it’s complete overreach by central government. This is a coalition government that prided itself on talking about localism ahead of the election,” he said.
“Councils are more than capable of making these decisions themselves ... and this is a backwards step.”
He said the wards meant councils had good Māori representation.
“It just brings it up to the same level as all the rest of the representation, it’s not an over-representation.”
Brown was right on that communities should have a say in whether Māori wards were introduced, Broughton said, but he argued they already did.
“That already happens through representation reviews where local communities and councils work together to determine the number of wards and the number of councillors and whether there should be community boards.
“We think that if you’re going to have a referendum for one of those decisions then why not have them for them all? And that would be ridiculous.
“To single out Māori wards in this way, we just don’t think is really treating councils with the respect we deserve.”
He said a standalone referendum on Taupō had cost $100,000 a few years ago, and while it would be cheaper when run alongside the local election, “I’m not exactly sure what those costs would be, but it’s not insignificant”.
Councils had provided a lot of feedback about this to the Government over the past three months, urging the Government to reconsider and get involved in a conversation about why it was needed, he said.
“We haven’t been invited to be part of that discussion at all, and today I’ve had calls from mayors talking about how they just can’t believe that this is happening.”
Brown denied it was overreach, saying it was “a coalition commitment, we’ve made it very clear ... this is about local communities making decisions about their representation and how those representation decisions are made, it’s putting the legislation back to what it was only a few years ago”.
He said the Government had decided to require the referendums to take place at the same time as the election “so that the cost is minimised”, but “ultimately the only cost will be if an extra piece of paper needs to be printed and the cost to count an additional vote”.
“We’ve been advised it’s going to be a minimal cost if any.”
Wellington’s mayor Tory Whanau said the move was over and above simply reversing the law, and was out of date with New Zealand’s democracy.
“I have no plans to remove the Māori ward and this council is committed to our partnership with our Takai Here partners and representation of Māori across the city,” she said.
“This is a concerning example of central government overruling a democratically made local government decision. This is over and above a reversion to the law of 2021, which only required a poll if demanded by a certain number of citizens.”
She said she questioned whether it lived up to the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“This Government is out of step and out of date with these changes to legislation and our democracy. I will work through this with our mana whenua and iwi partners before responding further ... abolishing the need for a referendum on Māori wards has helped to increase representation in local councils to its highest rate ever. This is only a good thing and should be celebrated, not reversed.”
Māori ward councillor Nīkau Wi Neera said the move was “in no way about fairness”.
“No other representation decision is subject to a referendum.
“I am extremely concerned about what appears to be an attack on efforts to honour Te Tiriti in local decision making, and the potential divisive impacts to Aotearoa of a referendum. However, I believe that this city will make the right decision.”
Green Party Māori development spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said the move was a continuation of the Government’s “legislative attack on Māori” and a racist step backwards for Māori representation.
“This Government is quickly establishing themselves to be one of the most inherently racist, anti-evidence and anti-Te Tiriti governments our country has ever seen,” she said.
“Māori wards were established to ensure equitable representation in local government. They are an essential mechanism that empower the unique voices, experiences and needs of Māori to be adequately represented and acknowledged in all decision-making processes.
“It’s diabolical that indigenous rights to representation which have already been secured are now being subject to an extra hurdle and risk being unwound, especially when the UN has noted that we have persistently low levels of Māori representation in local government.”
She said introducing the requirement for a referendum was a blatant attempt to suppress marginalised voices
“These referendums are not only a barrier to establishing desperately needed Māori wards but they can also deter councils from trying to get the wards in the first place.”
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi blamed the Act party for the move, saying they were “pillaging our nation with modern-day colonisation, silencing our voices, and ensuring our rights to be heard and represented are trampled”.
Act leader David Seymour had in a written statement celebrated the move, and pointed towards the reintroduction of a rule allowing at least 5 per cent of a council’s ratepayers to petition for another referendum on Māori wards on an ongoing basis.
Waititi said it was a continued attack on Māori representation and decision-making rights on local councils.
“Having 5 per cent of a people make a determination for the other 95 per cent of the community is like Te Pāti Māori making all the decisions for the nation in the current Parliament,” he said.
“Act simply wouldn’t have it, and that is the very foolishness that comes with the reintroduction.
“It is appalling, that Act think a 5 per cent referendum is their definition of democratic when Te Tiriti asserted equal rights and opportunities ... Act and the coalition resort to using the general election as their democratic mandate, yet ambush the mandate local electors give to their councillors.”
He said communities across the motu had put hours of work into mobilising in support of the wards.
“This is another move by Government to dictate what representation looks like at a local level. Yet they claim that they’re giving decision making back to the community.