NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / New Zealand / Politics

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania says Government should pay for Māori ward referendums - On the Tiles

Georgina Campbell
By Georgina Campbell
Senior Multimedia Journalist·nzme·
12 Sep, 2024 06:02 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Maori ward councillor, Pera Paniora, speaks after council voted to disestablish Maori wards. Video / Michael Craig

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania has a message for Local Government Minister Simeon Brown on Māori ward referendums: “If this is something that you have to see through, then you pay for it”.

A law change in 2021 removed the requirement for councils to hold polls on whether to introduce Māori wards. As a result, a number of councils agreed to establish Māori constituencies for the 2022 local elections.

After the new coalition Government came into power last year, a law change was approved meaning councils that put a Māori ward in place without holding a poll were now required to hold one at the upcoming local body elections or reverse their decisions on the wards.

Only two councils out of the 45 impacted by the change voted against keeping their Māori ward – Kaipara and Upper Hutt voted to scrap the seat.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Newstalk ZB Wellington reporter Azaria Howell told On The Tiles Local Edition many councils were concerned about the cost of holding the referendums.

“There’s this idea that the Government is the one that is putting this cost on to councils and on to local government and requiring this of them so maybe they should be the ones picking up the cost.”

Howell watched the Porirua City Council’s meeting about the issue.

“It seemed like quite a few people at Porirua City Council had that view and I feel like a lot of the debate was whether or not the Government should be the one paying for this rather than whether it is the right thing to do.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Other concerns included that it was a waste of time and that the policy was racist, Howell said.

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania, whose council has voted to keep its Māori ward, told the podcast he was not prescribing these wards as “a must”. Each council should get to decide, he said.

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania says each council should get to decide,
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania says each council should get to decide,

Tepania said he had respect for most of the South Island councils who had great relationships with their mana whenua and did not want Māori wards.

“But for those of us who do, this is a mechanism that allows us to see through our obligations under the Local Government Act to uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori wards are a way of us doing that.

“I understand that the minister has campaigned on this and so is wanting to see it through but if that’s the case, then pay for it. Don’t put it on us to have to pay for it.”

Tepania also urged Brown not to feed into the negative rhetoric that came with the issue.

“Let it be a fair game.”

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has previously said: “We are simply returning the law to what Helen Clark put in place back in 2001″.

“We welcome the public being able to have their say on whether or not these wards should continue at the referendum which will take place at next year’s local elections.

“The Government has required referendums to be undertaken alongside the next local government election in order to reduce costs,” Brown confirmed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Councils should not be afraid of asking their constituents what they think with a referendum – the ultimate form of localism.”

Brown added changes to Māori wards did not impact councils’ responsibilities to consult with mana whenua.

Listen to the full episode of the On the Tiles podcast for more from Moko Tepania about whether existing Māori wards will survive the requirement for referendums.

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays.

The podcast is hosted by Georgina Campbell, a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.


Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Politics

Politics

Chief Justice speaks on the stress judges face in a overloaded justice system

Watch
Politics

Peeni Henare and Chris Hipkins visit Te Māhurehure Marae

Watch
Politics

Revealed: The Government’s plan for more ‘flexible’ funding for disabled community


Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Politics

Chief Justice speaks on the stress judges face in a overloaded justice system
Politics

Chief Justice speaks on the stress judges face in a overloaded justice system

Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann speaks on the "heavy load" that judges carry on a day to day basis in a justice system she says is under considerable stress. Video / NZ Herald

Watch
03 Sep 03:19 AM
Peeni Henare and Chris Hipkins visit Te Māhurehure Marae
Politics

Peeni Henare and Chris Hipkins visit Te Māhurehure Marae

Watch
03 Sep 02:35 AM
Revealed: The Government’s plan for more ‘flexible’ funding for disabled community
Politics

Revealed: The Government’s plan for more ‘flexible’ funding for disabled community

02 Sep 10:10 PM


NZ’s convenience icon turns 35
Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

02 Sep 09:23 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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • 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
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP