Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

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

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

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

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

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 / Northern Advocate

Survey shows support for Maori seats

By Peter de Graaf
Northern Advocate·
26 Jul, 2013 04:00 PM2 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

Strong support for Maori seats on a proposed Far North unitary authority shows how much society has changed in recent years, an iwi leader says.

A survey commissioned by the Far North District Council to gauge support for its unitary authority proposal also asked respondents about their views on Maori representation.

More than two-thirds - 69 per cent - said they backed the idea of dedicated seats for Maori, despite Maori being under-represented in the sample of 400 people. Maori make up about 45 per cent of the Far North's population but formed less than 20 per cent of the survey group.

Ngai Takoto leader Rangitane Marsden, who co-chairs the Better Local Government in the Far North Working Group, said the result was an eye opener.

"If the survey had been done a couple of years ago, it [support for Maori seats] would've been so minimal it would've been scary," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He believed attitudes towards Maori representation were changing because non-Maori felt less threatened by iwi aspirations and saw the Maori economy's potential to change Northland for the better.

Iwi had also been doing more to engage with the council and the community, helping to break down the myth that "Maori wanted to take over the world".

With Treaty settlements signed by three out of five Te Hiku iwi and large swathes of unproductive land waiting to be used, people were realising Maori could be the Far North's economic powerhouse.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Everything we're talking about is not just good for Maori, it's good for all communities."

Mr Marsden said the three proposed Maori seats at the nine-seat council table could be based on the Far North's existing wards.

The northern ward could, for example, select a representative for the five Te Hiku iwi, the western ward Ngapuhi, and the east Ngati Hine/Ngatiwai.

Any representatives would need to have a strong mandate and a high degree of support.

The Local Government Commission - which is expected to announce its preference for future local government in Northland after the October election - cannot impose Maori seats under current law.

That would be a decision for the new council. The Far North District Council is keen to see its proposal for a unitary authority and Maori seats combined.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

14 Jul 12:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Kaitāia Airport's $5.4m upgrade progresses with regular iwi meetings

14 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
Northern Advocate

'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

13 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

 Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

14 Jul 12:00 AM

Kaipara's rates hike is 8.3%, with a targeted rate of $14 per property for three museums.

Kaitāia Airport's $5.4m upgrade progresses with regular iwi meetings

Kaitāia Airport's $5.4m upgrade progresses with regular iwi meetings

14 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Man jailed after forcing children to witness horrific animal cruelty

Man jailed after forcing children to witness horrific animal cruelty

13 Jul 08:00 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
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP