Protesters march against the Rotorua Lakes Council's proposed representation model in March. Photo / Andrew Warner
Protesters march against the Rotorua Lakes Council's proposed representation model in March. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua’s council has spent more than $146,000 pursuing a local bill to increase the representation of Māori on the council.
Now, that bill is on the chopping block.
The mayor wants to scrap it, but a local MP believes the council is “playing Rubik’s Cube” with its democratic structure.
Attomorrow’s Rotorua Lakes Council meeting, councillors will decide whether to continue pursuing or withdraw support for the controversial Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.
The bill would change electoral rules for the district to allow an equal number of Māori ward and general ward seats on the council.
A report on the bill on the agenda for the council’s Wednesday meeting recommends the council write to the Māori Affairs Select Committee to either withdraw or confirm council support for the bill.
If council support was confirmed, the select committee responsible for the bill would resume public hearings and report back to Parliament by May. If support was withdrawn, it was expected the bill would be withdrawn, the report said.
The bill arose as part of the council’s regular review of its representation arrangements.
In November 2021, after consultation, it settled on three general ward, three Māori ward and four at-large councillors as its preferred structure.
But this structure was illegal. Based on Rotorua’s population, the maximum number of Māori ward seats the Local Electoral Act allowed it to have was two.
As a workaround, council officials devised an “interim” model of one Māori ward seat, one general ward seat and eight at-large seats while it pursued a law change to enable the preferred model.
The Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill was publicly notified in March.
While the bill progressed through Parliament, the Local Government Commission in April overturned the interim model in favour of one Māori ward with three seats, one general ward with six seats and one rural ward seat for the 2022 election.
That month, the Māori Affairs Committee heard submissions on the bill. Opposing submitters argued it went against the principles of suffrage and was akin to “apartheid”, while supporters said it promoted equity and equality.
Attorney-General David Parker found the bill could not be justified under the Bill of Rights Act and discriminated against general roll voters.
“[It] would make the number of council members for the Māori ward disproportionately higher than the number of council members for the general ward in comparison to their respective populations.”
The council pressed “pause” on the bill, with then-mayor Steve Chadwick saying this would allow for work to strengthen the policy for the local bill.
Labour retracted its support for the bill, which was sponsored by Rotorua-based List MP Tamati Coffey. He said “it was clear that more information was needed” following the Attorney-General’s report.
Tapsell said in her opinion, the bill had been “rushed through” and withdrawing council support would give the community time to give the current representation model implemented by the Local Government Commission a fair shot.
She said while personally she supported withdrawing council support, all councillors would have a vote.
Peter Bentley, a former district councillor who resigned during a discussion about the bill hours before it was paused, said he “was against it the first time around and am adamantly against it now”.
Peter Bentley, pictured before resigning from being a district councillor. Photo / Andrew Warner
“I firmly believe in democracy being one man, one vote. No one individual is more important than any other.”
Bentley said he was surprised the bill had come back around for discussion so quickly.
“I think it will be a real test for new councillors to take a stand.”
Coffey was asked whether he supported the bill, if it should be withdrawn or pursued and if the current representation arrangement adequately represented the community.
Labour List MP Tamati Coffey. Photo / Andrew Warner
In his view: “Our people deserve a council that commits to a meaningful partnership with Te Arawa and makes swift, decisive calls to get this right.
“We can’t keep the status quo, where less than half of our community bothers to vote in local elections and influence change. We need a model that inspires partnership and turnout.
In Coffey’s opinion: “The confusion which comes from [the] council playing Rubik’s Cube with the make-up of our local decision-making tables is already being negatively felt within local homes and whānau.”
He said he’d had complaints from both rural ward residents and Māori ward voters unhappy with the current structure.
According to the report in this week’s council agenda, the select committee has asked whether the new council wished to continue the Parliamentary process.
“If [the] council confirms support for the bill, there will be renewed public interest in the issue. To date, much of the public commentary has been inaccurate, and it is likely that this will continue, which may negatively affect [the] council’s reputation,” the report said.
“If [the] council withdraws support for the Bill, there may be criticism about [the] council’s commitment to the Rotorua Township Agreement and fair representation for Māori. It is recommended that these questions should be addressed at the next representation review through early and in-depth discussion with mana whenua and with the community at large.”
The council meeting is at 9.30am on Wednesday in the council chambers, livestreamed online and open to the public.
Other items on the agenda include a six-month financial performance report, a report about hearings on Kerbside Organic Waste Collection in Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum Triennial Agreement.
