Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

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 / Northland Age

Far North votes down Maori wards

Northland Age
23 Mar, 2015 07:38 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

Far North electors have voted against establishing Maori wards for the 2016 and 2019 Far North District Council elections.

The council resolved last year to poll electors on whether dedicated seats for Maori should be provided at the council table. Voting documents were sent to 38,946 electors on the General and Maori Parliamentary electoral rolls in February, just over 35 per cent of them being returned. A strong majority, 68 per cent (9315 votes) were opposed, with 31.5 per cent (4309) in favour.

Mayor John Carter thanks those who had voted.

"We made a decision as a council to be guided by the community on this issue. The result does not diminish our commitment to improving our relationships with Maori, or involving them in our decision-making processes."

The Council would now seek feedback from Maori about other non-electoral representation options.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There are a number of options available, including the establishment of a Maori standing committee, representation on standing committees of council through to advisory board appointments. We will fully explore whichever options are preferable to Maori," Mr Carter added.

The council would also continue to korero with Maori about non-electoral engagement options such as developing strategic partnership agreements with iwi and hap, communicating more effectively with Te Kahu o Taonui (Tai Tokerau iwi chairs) and promoting more collaboration between the Northland Councils' Chief Executive Officers' Forum and the Iwi Chief Executives' Consortium.

"Council acknowledges the spirit and principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi and the need for Maori to be involved in our decision-making," Mr Carter said. "We recognise that we are stronger as a district if we work together towards a shared vision, and wish to explore what the principles of partnership, participation and protection may mean for our collective future."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

Northland Age

Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae

Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants
Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

Sea spurge, an invasive weed, was found at Spirits Bay, 60km from the nearest site.

16 Jul 04:00 AM
Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae
Northland Age

Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae

16 Jul 02:00 AM
'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister
Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister

15 Jul 03:26 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
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 Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • 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
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP