What are Māori Wards?
Similar to the Māori Parliamentary seats, Māori Wards establish areas where only those on the Māori electoral roll vote for the Māori Ward candidates.
- They sit alongside the General Wards
- Like General Wards they cover the entire district
- They help to ensure Māori interests will have a seat at the decision-making table
Why are Māori wards provided as an option?
The Local Government Act 2002 recognises the Crown's responsibility to take appropriate account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and to maintain and improve opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making processes.
Māori wards are intended to substantially represent the importance of the Māori community voice, to provide assurance that issues of priority to Māori can be more directly brought to Council, and to promote confidence in local government decision-making processes, knowing that where there is a distinctive Māori perspective related to a matter, someone will be able to interpret and weigh up the associated issues. Importantly Māori wards are intended to address a concern that local government does not at present represent Māori issues, or wider issues with real implications for the Māori community, in ways that are compelling to, and engaging of, the Māori community.
How are Māori wards established?
The Local Electoral Act 2001 (LEA) provides the mechanism for councils to establish Māori wards. To take effect, councils must first resolve to establish Māori wards. Recent changes to the Local Electoral Act (LEA) removed any options for establishing Māori ward/s other than the Council resolving to have Māori wards.
On 20 May 2021, Whakatāne District Council unanimously voted to introduce Māori wards for the 2022 and 2025 local body elections.
Now that Council has decided to have Māori wards – what happens next?
Council needs to follow a population-based formula within the Local Electoral Act to determine the number of Māori and general councillors, and whether they would be elected on a ward or district wide basis. These decisions will be included in the upcoming representation review.
How many Māori wards or Māori councillors will there be?
There is a formula in the Local Electoral Act 2001 (Schedule 1A) that sets the number of members to be elected to Māori wards. The number of Māori ward councillors is calculated in proportion to the overall number of councillors, the number of people on the Māori electoral roll and a proportion of the Māori population.
Who can stand for election in a Māori Ward?
To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must be:
- A New Zealand citizen (by birth or citizenship ceremony); and
- Enrolled as a Parliamentary elector (anywhere in New Zealand); and
- Nominated by two electors whose names appear on the electoral roll within the respective area that a candidate is standing for. As such, candidates in Māori wards do not have to be of Māori descent.
- Candidates cannot stand for general and Māori wards at the same time.
Who can vote for Māori ward candidates in an election?
- Voters on the Māori electoral roll will vote for and be represented by candidates contesting a Māori ward rather than candidates contesting a general ward;
- Voters on the general electoral roll will continue to vote for candidates contesting general wards;
- Everyone will vote for the Mayor, at-large councillors (if any), and community board members
- Voters on the Māori electoral roll will continue to vote for the Māori constituencies in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council election and the voters on the general electoral roll will continue to vote for the candidates contesting the general constituencies.
- Everyone will vote for the District Health Board members.
Do Māori ward elected members only represent Māori?
Ka tū ngā mema whai mana pōti Māori hei māngai noa iho o Ngāi Māori?
No. Once elected, all elected members, from General or Māori wards, take a formal oath to represent the entire district.
Do Māori ward elected members only represent their iwi?
Ka tū ngā mema whai mana pōti Māori hei māngai noa iho o tō rātou ake iwi?
No. The Māori ward elected members could whakapapa to particular iwi, but under the formal oath they will represent all community members.
Who can be on the Māori electoral roll?
Ko wai ka āhei ki te noho i te rārangi pōti Māori?
If you're of Māori descent, you can enrol in either the General or Māori electoral rolls. If you're not of Māori descent, you can only enrol in the General electoral roll.
What happens after a council establishes Māori wards?
Any council that establishes Māori wards must complete a representation review to propose how many councillors it will have at the next election and the boundaries for any wards.
In its representation review, the Council may propose that any new Māori councillor positions are additional to the existing general councillor positions, or it may propose converting some general councillor positions to Māori councillor positions.
The council must consult on its representation review proposal with its community before determining a final proposal.
The final proposal may be subject to review by the Local Government Commission if there are appeals or objections or the proposal is non-complying.
Visit our Whakatāne District Representation Review page for more information.