Kaipara District Council face Māori ward legal challenge in High Court

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson at his council's August 7 Māori ward decision meeting. Photo / Michael Craig

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua is seeking to overturn Kaipara District Council’s decision to abolish its Māori ward in the High Court tomorrow.

Kaipara District Council (KDC) is defending the rūnanga action, expected to cost ratepayers as much as $180,000.

The rūnanga is applying for a judicial review of the process KDC used in making its decision, with council and rūnanga legal representatives due to attend a High Court hearing in Auckland tomorrow.

The outcome of the hearing could derail KDC’s required work towards getting a proposed new-look political structure for the October 2025 local elections, minus its Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward, organised and to the Local Government Commission by Friday.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua alleges KDC made its August 7 disestablishment decision without consulting iwi and hapū including Te Uri o Hau, Te Roroa, Ngāti Whātua, Ngātiwai, and Te Kuihi. It says this breached the council’s legal obligations under the Local Government Act.

KDC is the only council in New Zealand to can its existing Māori ward under the August 1 Government legislation. This means it would have a new political make-up for the next local elections without the ward that began in October 2022.

The Government legislation requires councils to either get rid of their Māori wards before the next local election – these councils then revert to 2019 political arrangements or in Kaipara’s case create a new political representation structure due to population growth – or if keeping these wards to hold a binding community poll about that decision.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said at the KDC meeting on August 7 he did not see the need for a Māori ward.

“I reject the notion that Māori must have a designated ward to ensure representation,” Jepson said.

Meanwhile, Te Uri o Hau trustee Antony Thompson said ahead of tomorrow’s High Court hearing that the priority for Te Uri o Hau was ensuring whānau voices were heard.

“Unity is crucial. We’ve always stood by that belief. Kia kōtahi tātou – together as one.”

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.