Whakatāne District Council to reconsider Māori wards at May meeting

Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner. Photo / Alan Gibson

Whakatāne District Council elected members will decide on whether or not to establish Māori wards at a council meeting next week.

The opportunity to again consider the establishment of Māori wards comes following the Local Electoral Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies Amendment Bill which was passed at Parliament in February this year.

The recent changes to the Local Electoral Act removed any options for establishing Māori wards other than the council resolving to have Māori wards.

Previously, local polls with five or more per cent of the voting population could overturn a council's decision to introduce Māori wards, which Whakatāne District Council experienced in 2018, the council said in a statement.

The change to legislation has set the deadline for councils to consider Māori wards to May 21 of this year. The council meeting is being held on May 20.

To inform its decision, Whakatāne District Council's elected members have sought input from the Iwi Chairs Forum, which carries representatives of iwi that hold mana whenua in the Whakatāne rohe.

The council has also asked for feedback from the Youth Council and each of the four Community Boards within the district. A public forum will be held at the start of the council's extraordinary meeting next week to enable members of the public to speak to the mayor and councillors before they make their decision.

In 2018, the then-council voted in favour of establishing Māori wards following a public consultation process.

The decision then went to a public poll after the council received a petition signed by 1161 registered voters, and the binding poll determined that Māori wards would not proceed after 55 per cent of electors voted against Māori wards.

There are 29 councils across Aotearoa that are either required to undertake a representation review or have chosen to do a further review ahead of the 2022 elections.

Ten councils have already decided to establish Māori wards in time for the 2022 local elections, joining three councils that have already done so.