Wellington Mayor Andy Foster accused of seeking 'political cover' after calling for public feedback on iwi voting rights

Thursday, 8 April 2021

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster has been accused of “delay tactics” and seeking “political cover” after he suggested a proposal to give iwi voting rights on council committees should be taken to the public.

A representative from each of Wellington's two iwi will be given voting rights on all but one city council committee from July, after councillors voted 8-6 in favour of the proposal on Thursday.

Foster was one of the six councillors who voted against it, while Deputy Mayor Sarah Free was absent.

It means a member from the two iwi – Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui and Ngāti Toa Rangatira – will be appointed to all committees excluding the chief executive performance review committee and the full council.

**READ MORE:

* Wellington City Council set to establish Māori ward next year

* City councillor Jenny Condie concerned about legal risks of library proposals

* Wellington Mayor Andy Foster worried he would be beaten to the punch on review announcement

**

Foster was criticised by several councillors during debate on the topic, after he put forward an amendment calling for the “significant” change to be put out for public feedback before going to a council vote.

Foster said current councillors were democratically elected and answerable to voters, whereas appointed iwi members would not be.

“We’re elected to make decisions for the whole community. I’m suggesting we agree in principle [to the proposal], but we allow the opportunity for the public to provide feedback,” he said. “I think I’d like to give it more substance than just our view without any other input at all.”

Foster said his proposal would not lead to a delay, with the feedback proposed to be received by May.

However, the amendment failed by 13 votes to two, with only councillor Simon Woolf supporting it.

Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons accused Foster of putting forward a “process delay amendment”, and ignoring the council’s Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

She was not opposed to seeking public feedback because she was “too scared”, but because she was “too embarrassed”.

Councillor Jenny Condie agreed the proposal did not require formal public feedback, because it would be “rectifying an injustice”.

She told Foster he was “waiting for potentially racist feedback to provide you with some political cover”.

“This is a delaying and political tactic that will cause more hurt for Māori and mana whenua.”

Jill Day, who tabled the notice of motion in August last year that led to Thursday’s vote, told Foster she was disappointed because “I hoped you would have been able to lead strongly on this”.

Rebecca Matthews said seats on the council had traditionally been a “white privilege”.

“There is absolutely no excuse for sitting around this table if you don’t understand our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira CEO Helmut Modlik​ did not want to criticise the mayor without knowing why he felt the decision should go to the public, and said he had a responsibility to his constituents.

He believed the same outcome would have been reached if it had gone to a public vote.

“It certainly feels New Zealand as a whole has reached a tipping point and wants to put our colonial past behind us and start a new chapter.”

Ngāti Toa Rangatira had been on a journey of strengthening its ability to uphold its end of the Treaty of Waitangi, and Thursday’s decision felt like a continuation of that work.

Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui could not be reached for comment.

The representatives will be appointed to the committees by their iwi, with the potential for different members to be appointed to different committees.

Each iwi will be paid an annual fee of $111,225 – equivalent to the current salary of a full-time elected member.

Mana whenua members currently have membership on two council committees, but are not paid and do not have voting rights.

How they voted:

For: Jenny Condie, Jill Day, Fleur Fitzsimons, Laurie Foon, Rebecca Matthews, Teri O’Neill, Iona Pannett, Tamatha Paul. Against: Andy Foster, Diane Calvert, Sean Rush, Malcolm Sparrow, Simon Woolf, Nicola Young.