Māori wards: Mayoral candidates in three biggest New Zealand cities have differing views

Thirty-seven local councils and five regional councils will need to hold referendums on Māori wards. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Mayoral candidates in our largest cities remain divided on the issue of Māori wards.

Thirty-seven local councils and five regional councils will need to hold referendums on Māori wards in the upcoming local elections next month, including Wellington City Council.

Wellington mayoral candidate Andrew Little wants to see his council’s ward retained.

“The rationale for Māori wards is to ensure there is a Māori voice at the council table that is directly accountable back to Māori voters,” he said.

Little said increasing the diversity of voices on the council also helps it make better decisions.

He said there was already a precedent for this.

Andrew Little will advocate for the wards throughout his campaign. Photo / supplied.

“An obvious comparison is rural wards, which exist in some councils to ensure that rural communities always have a voice at the table.”

Fellow Wellington mayoral candidate Diane Calvert said the council would honour what voters wanted.

“Voters are already informed here in Wellington, and I will respect whatever Wellingtonians choose,” Calvert said.

Ray Chung, another mayoral candidate in the capital, said he was more focused on other matters, such as controlling the council’s spending.

“If Wellingtonians support a Māori ward, we’ll back it. If they don’t, we’ll respect that. We believe in listening to the people,” Chung said.

Auckland Council and Christchurch City Council won’t be holding referendums, as they don’t have Māori wards.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown – who abstained in a 2023 vote in which councillors voted 11 to 9 against establishing Māori wards – said a solution for Māori representation has yet to be found.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown abstained from a Māori wards vote in 2023 but said a solution for Māori representation hasn't been found yet. Photo / Michael Craig

“A joint Governance Working Party is working on options and will present these back to the council’s Governing Body in due course,” Brown said.

Auckland mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni said she supported Māori wards as a way to better honour commitments made to tangata whenua under the Treaty of Waitangi.

“It is important to get a variety of voices around the decision-making table.”

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said the council previously consulted iwi and they were comfortable with the current council-iwi relationship.

Phil Mauger says local iwi have indidcated they don't want to pursue a ward. Photo / George Heard

“They did not feel it was appropriate for a Māori ward to be established in Christchurch.”

Another mayoral candidate – councillor Sara Templeton – said she agreed.

“Here in Christchurch, conversations with mana whenua in recent years have indicated that they do not want to pursue a Māori ward for our city.

“It’s not something that we have done, although I’d be open to it if that view changed.”

Templeton said ultimately, any future decision about Māori wards should lie with the councillors.

Jacob Jones is a Newstalk ZB reporter working out of the Auckland newsroom. He has an interest in council and local government issues.