An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information, provided by the Waipa District Council stating that ‘The Department of Internal Affairs had advised individual councils would not be able to submit to the select committee’. This is incorrect and councils can submit to the select committee.
A Government directive forcing councils to hold binding polls before establishing Māori wards has been slated by Waipā District Council.
Waipā established a Māori ward in May 2021 following community consultation which showed 84 per cent support.
The Government was now asking Waipa District Council - and 44 other councils – to either reverse decisions on Māori wards or hold a binding poll at the 2025 elections to see if the ward should remain.
At yesterday’s meeting, the council agreed to write to Local Government Minister Simeon Brown expressing strong concern about the proposed change.
Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan went a step further and said the Government had been arrogant in its approach and had “over-reached”.
“I’m disappointed the Government has come in in such a heavy-handed way - on one hand promoting localism and on the other hand trying to dictate how local communities like ours should be represented. You can’t have it both ways,” she said.
“As it stands, councils, informed by their community, can make decisions about the establishment or not of Māori wards without having to undertake a costly poll. That’s what we did, and that’s what all councils and all communities should be able to do.”
Waipa was one of 45 councils that established Māori wards, or resolved to, since the 2021 law change which removed the requirement for a poll.
The Government directive meant those councils, despite having already consulted with their communities, had two options - reverse the decision to establish a Māori ward or disestablish current Māori wards, meaning there would be no Māori wards for the 2025 election.
If a council did not reverse a Māori ward decision, it must hold a binding poll at the 2025 election, with the outcome of that poll to apply from 2028. A poll for Waipā would cost about $50,000.
O’Regan said she was concerned the bill treated Māori wards differently from other wards, which did not require a binding poll, including rural wards.
She also noted all Waipā councillors, whether elected in a general ward, rural ward or Māori ward, were charged with representing the interests of the whole district, not just one portion of the population or geographical area.
“We got a very clear message from our community in 2021, with nearly 900 submissions received. That is a significant number. It annoys me that our own comprehensive consultation process appears to have been disregarded by people who don’t even live in Waipā.”
The bill confirming the change was likely to be introduced in May.