He whakamāramatanga wāri Māori

Friday, 19 April 2024

Kua whakamāoritia tēnei pūrongo e tētahi hinengaro rorohiko, ā, kua hihiratia e te kaiwhakamāori a Puna, ko Joel Maxwell, nāna te pūrongo i whakapai hoki i mua i te whakaputa hei pūrongo reorua. Nā Straker me Microsoft te hinengaro rorohiko i whakawhanake.

This story, originally in English only, was translated into reo Māori by an AI tool then checked and edited by Stuff kaiwhakamāori Joel Maxwell before publication as a bilingual news story. The AI tool was developed by Straker and Microsoft.

Kua whakahētia ngā wāri Māori hei patu i te manapori, hei tuku pōti anō ki te tangata Māori. I tēnei whakamāramatanga ka kitea e tātou he pikitia rerekē - i te wā e tohu ana te Kāwanatanga i ngā panonitanga nui ki mua.

Māori council wards have been criticised as undemocratic and giving extra votes to Māori. In this explainer we discover a different picture - as the Government signals big changes ahead.

Kīhai a ngāi Aotearoa i kitea, e tata ana ki te rua-hautoru o ōna kaunihera i whiwhi i ngā wāri Māori, engari akuanei pea ka hinga tēnei whananga māika nā te whakamatenga tūmatanui rawa.

Aotearoa never even noticed as nearly two-thirds of its councils adopted Māori wards, but that quiet revolution could be set for a very public execution.

Read this story in English here.

I ngā tau tata nei, kua maha rawa ake ngā kaunihera e whiwhi wāri Māori ana mai i te toru ki te 49 kē; i tēnei wā, ka whakakī rānei i te pōti 2025.

In the past few years, New Zealand has gone from having three councils with Māori wards to 49 councils that either have them already, or will have them at the 2025 elections.

E karanga ana te Kāwanatanga he āhuatanga whakawehe tangata tēnei, ā, ka whakahaua e rātou te nuinga o ngā kaunihera kia whakakore i ngā wāri Māori, kia whakatū pōtitake-here hei whakatau mō te noho tonu rānei o ngā wāri.

The Government calls them divisive and will force most councils to either dump Māori wards or hold binding public polls to decide their future.

Mehemea he tohu ngā whakatau a-pōti o mua, he iti noa iho te rerekētanga. Kua roa nei te wā e noho mai āna tēnei raru, e whakaatu ana i ngā āhuatanga o te tōkeketanga, te ōritetanga, te whai rānei i Te Tiriti me te tino kaha o te tini hei patu i te toenga.

If the past is any indication, there’s little difference. It is a decades-long story about fairness, equality, Te Tiriti and the sheer brute power of numbers.

He pēhea te tīmata anō/How it restarted

I te Pēpuere 1, 2021, i tata mua i te Rā o Waitangi, ka pānuitia e te minita kāwanatanga ā-rohe a Nanaia Mahuta he kaupapa hei whakawātea i ngā wāri Māori i te whakakorenga tūmatanui.

It was on February 1, 2021, tucked in ahead of Waitangi Day, that then-local government minister Nanaia Mahuta announced plans to free Māori wards from public cancellation.

Neke atu i ngā ngahurutaurua e rua, e 24 ngā kaunihera i ngana ki te waihanga i ngā wāri Māori i raro i te Local Electoral Act 2001, e rua anake ngā whakataunga e ora ana. Kāore i te ōrite ki ērā atu momo wāri katoa, kua taea te whakakore i te wāri Māori i runga i te pōtitake-here tūmatanui, nā te hapori i timata.

Over two decades, 24 councils attempted to create Māori wards under the Local Electoral Act 2001, with only two decisions surviving. Unlike every other type of ward, Māori wards could be overturned by community-initiated votes (also called referendums, or polls).

Nā reira, pērā i te ōwehenga o ngā wini me ngā hinga o te tīma whutupōro o Āketina ki te kapa Ōpango i roto i aua ngahurutau e rua (2-26), he ōwehenga koretake i taua wā me tētahi mea merekara kotahi hoki. Ko te mea, i kī a Mahuta, he “ārai kore e taea te peke” ngā pōtitake-here ki te whakaahuahanga Māori me te tino tika.

Thus, much like, say, Argentina’s win-loss record against the All Blacks over the same two decades (2-26), it was simultaneously a terrible ratio and something of a miracle. In fact, Mahuta said, polls were “an insurmountable barrier” to Māori representation and fundamentally unfair.

Mā te ōritetanga i waenga i ngā wāri katoa, ka puāwai mai te whaiwāhitanga, te kanorautanga, te whai tika i Te Tiriti me he papa tākaro papatahi rawa ki te katoa, hei tāna.

Treating Māori wards the same as others would increase Māori participation, boost diversity, help honour Te Tiriti and generally level the playing field, she said.

Nā reira i runga i te Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021, i whakakorea e te kāwanatanga i taua wā te kaha o te iwi whānui ki te whakatū i tētahi pōtitake-here.

So with the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021, the then-government cancelled the public’s ability to trigger a poll.

I te mea rānei i whakatauria e te Tari Ture o te Karauna (te tari mātanga ā-ture a te Kāwanatanga) i te wā e hihira ana te tari i ngā menemana: i whakakoretia [e ngā panonitanga] ngā wāhanga i tāmi mai ai tētahi rerekētanga 'i runga i te momo a-iwi noa' i waenganui i ngāi Māori me ngā tāngata kē, kia tōhore mai i a rātou.

Or, as the Office of Legal Counsel (the Government’s legal advisory) pointed out when vetting the amendments: it repealed provisions that drew a distinction “on the basis of race” between Māori and non-Māori, which in practice disadvantaged Māori.

Nā reira ka tū tonu ngā whakataunga kaikaunihera mō ngā wāri, ā, e kore e taea te tūraki nā te pōtitake-here, me te aha, ina ka whakahē te marea, ka taea e rātou te pana i ngā kaukaunihera ā tōna wā, arā, a te wā pōtitanga.

Thus any councillor decisions on wards would stand unreversed by binding polls and, if really unpopular, councillors themselves could always be turfed out in elections.

Nā whai anō, he pātai anō …

Which begs the question …

He aha ai me whakaaro koe mō tō kaunihera?/Why even care about your council?

Ka kohia e ngā kaunihera āu rāpihi, whakaaetia tō whare hou, te hanga, te whakatika rānei i ngā huarahi paetata, te whakarato i tō wai, ka whakatau mēnā ka whakaaetia tō tino pāparakāuta kia haere tonu. Ka taea e a rātou whakataunga te whakamate i tō umanga, i tō uara papanoho rānei, te whakarewa rānei.

Councils collect your rubbish, consent your new house, build or fix your local roads, supply your water, and decide if your favourite bar is allowed to keep running. Their decisions can kill your business or your property value ‒ or boost them.

E mahi tahi ana rātou ki ngā mana whenua, a, ngā tāngata Māori katoa, i te taumata pū harakeke.

They deal with mana whenua, and Māori in general, at a grassroots level.

Heoi anō, i ētahi wā he ngāwari noa iho te kore kite i te wāriu nui rawa o ngā kaunihera katoa mō ngā pū harakeke noa. Ko te uara katoa o ngā kaunihera o Aotearoa ko te $144 piriona. E $2900 te utu reiti mō te kāinga tūtahi toharite o Aotearoa ia tau (ahakoa he tino rerekē te nui ki ētahi atu).

To be fair, it’s easy sometimes to miss the mammoth net worth of councils for all the grassroots. Collectively, New Zealand councils are worth $144 billion. An average New Zealand household pays about $2900 in annual rates (although this varies wildly).

He pēhea te tīmata anō/How it restarted, again

I te Āperira 4, 2024, ka pānuitia e te Minita Kāwanatanga ā-rohe a Simeon Brown he kaupapa hei whakahoki mai i ngā pōtitake-here tūmatanui hei whakatau i ngā wāri Māori (engari, pērā ki mua, kāore he momo wāri anō). Ka whakaritea ngā huringa i te mutunga o Hūrae.

On April 4, 2024, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to bring back public polls to decide Māori wards (but, as before, no other wards). The changes would be enacted by the end of July.

Ko te whakakore i ngā pōtitake-here i te tuatahi i whakawehewehetia, ka kī a Brown. 'E tika ana kia whai kōrero ngā mema hapori i roto i a rātou whakaritenga mana urungi.'

Getting rid of the polls in the first place was divisive, Brown said. “Local community members deserve to have a say in their governance arrangements.”

E matea ana ko ngā kaunihera i waihanga i ngā wāri Māori mai i te panoni i ngā ture kia whakatū he pōtitake-here anō ki te taha o te pōtitanga 2025. Ka mukua ngā wāri Māori a muri i te pōtitanga 2028 ina ka whakahē te nuinga o te hapori.

Councils that created Māori wards since the changes would have to hold a binding poll alongside the 2025 elections. Māori wards would be wiped from 2028 elections if rejected in the poll.

Tērā anō, ka taea e ngā kaunihera te whakakore noa iho i ngā wāri Māori mō te pōtitanga 2025.

Alternatively, councils could simply dissolve Māori wards themselves for the 2025 elections.

Ka tāea anō e te hapori te whakatū i te pōtitake-here kia whakatau mō ngā wāri Māori (me ngā wāri Māori anake) e rite tonu ana i ngā tau o mua.

Any future Māori wards (and only Māori wards) could once again be subjected to binding, community-triggered polls operating exactly as they did before.

I pēhea te whakariterite a ēnei pōtitake-here?/How did these polls work?

I mua i te 2021, ka whakaaetia te ture o mua mō tētahi petihana (ka taea e ngā tāngata katoa te whakatū i tētahi) me ngā waitohu mai i te 5% o ngā kaipōti kua rēhitatia i te rohe hei whakatū i tētahi pōtitake-here. Ka taea e ngā kaipōti rēhita katoa- i te rārangi pōti Māori, te rārangi pōti auraki rānei - i te rohe kaunihera te waitohu me te pōti rānei. Me whai te kauniheri i te whakatau a te pōtitake-here mō ngā kaupeka e rua e whai ake ana. Ka taea te whakatū i te petihana ahakoa te wā.

Before 2021, the old act allowed for a petition (anyone could start one) with signatures from 5% of enrolled voters in the district to trigger a binding poll. All enrolled voters ‒ general or Māori ‒ in the council area could sign and/or vote. The poll results are binding on the council for at least two elections. A petition could be started at any time.

Heoi anō, ahakoa kāore he wāri Māori tā te kaunihera, ka taea te whakatū i te pōtitake mā te petihana hei whakatau mehemea e tika ana.

Interestingly, even if a council doesn’t have Māori wards, a poll could be triggered via petition to decide if it should.

I te putanga atu, ehara i te mea uaua ki te kohikohi i ngā waitohu. Hei tauira, i te 2018, i tautoko te rōpū whakahē i Te Tiriti, Hobson’s Pledge, me te kaihautu o mua o te Pāti Nahinara, a Don Brash, i te hanga petihana ki ngā wāri Māori e tū mai ana ki ngā kaunihera ki Te Papaioea, Kaikōura, Manawatū, Whakatāne me te Waiariki ki te Uru. I āwhina te rōpū i nga kaiwhakahaere me 'ngā hōia waewae' ki te kohikohi i ngā waitohu whaimana.

As it turned out, it wasn't that hard to gather the signatures. For instance, in 2018, anti-Treaty group Hobson’s Pledge, championed by former National leader Don Brash, supported petitions against Māori wards in Palmerston North, Kaikōura, Manawatū, Whakatāne and Western Bay of Plenty. The group helped wrangle organisers and “foot troops” to gather valid signatures.

Nā whai anō i patua e ngā pōtitake-here ngā wāri Māori katoa i aua kaunihera.

Subsequent polls overturned every Māori ward in those councils.

E kore ngā petihana e matea ana hei whakatū pōtitake-here i te pōtitanga 2025 - ka whakahaua e te Kāwanatanga ngā pōtitake-here kia hopu i ngā whakataunga kaunihera mai i ngā tau e rua kua taha.

Of course, petitions won’t be required to trigger polls at the 2025 election ‒ the Government would make them compulsory to capture council decisions from the past couple of years.

He aha tonu ngā wāri?/What even are wards?

Ko ngā wāri e mātītore ana i te rohe o te kaunihera mō te pōtitanga. Ko ngā wāri Māori me ngā rohe pōti Māori (e whakamahia ana i roto i nga kaunihera ā-rohe) e hanga ōrite ana ki ngā rohe pōti pāremata Māori.

Wards divide up a council into geographic areas for elections. Māori wards and Māori constituencies (used in regional councils) are the equivalent of Māori parliamentary electorates.

Pēnei i ngā wāri auraki, he wāhi matawhenua noa te wāri Māori, engari, i tēnei horopaki, ko te hunga i runga i te rārangi pōti Māori kia pōti mō ngā kaitono o te wāri Māori.

Like general wards, a Māori ward is a geographic area but, in this case, those on the Māori electoral roll vote for representatives of that ward.

Na, kei te mahi noa iho ngā kaikaunihera wāri Māori mō ngāi Māori anake?/So Māori ward councillors are working just for Māori?

Kāore. Ahakoa te wāhi, ka oati ia kaikaunihera i raro i te Local Government Act kia mahi mō ngā whainga matua o te rohe kaunihera katoa. Koia tēnā te ture.

No. Regardless of ward, every councillor takes an oath under the Local Government Act to work for the best interests of the entire council area. That’s the law.

Tērā anō, ka taea e tētahi te tū i roto i tētahi wāhi Māori mēnā he kirirarau o Aotearoa, e 18 neke atu rānei, ā, kua rēhitatia ki te pōti. Ehara i te mea me Māori te kaitono kia tū mō tētahi wāhi Māori.

Besides, anyone can stand in a Māori ward if they’re a New Zealand citizen, 18 or over, and enrolled to vote. Candidates don’t have to be Māori to stand for a Māori ward.

Kāore koe e whiwhi pōti tāpiri mā te noho i roto i tētahi wāhi Māori - ahakoa te whakapae hē o te marea mō tēnei. Mehemea kei runga koe i te rārangi pōti Māori, ā, he wāri Māori tō kaunihera, ka taea anake e koe te pōti mō ngā kaitono wāri Māori. E pōti ana te toenga o ngā kaipōti ki ngā wāri auraki. Ka pōtihia e te katoa mō ngā kaitono e tū ana i te wāhanga rohe-katoa, ngā mema o te poari hapori paetata, me te mea.

Contrary to a common misconception, you don’t get an extra vote by being in a Māori ward. If you are on the Māori electoral roll and your council has a Māori ward, you can only vote for Māori ward candidates. Everyone else votes in general wards. Everyone votes for any at-large councillors, local community board members etc, and the mayor.

E whakatau ana te maha o ngā wāri Māori mā te maha anō o ngā tāngata i te rārangi pōti Māori i te rohe e whakatairite ana i te rārangi pōti auraki ki te takiwā.

The number of Māori wards depends on the number of people on the Māori roll in that area compared to the general electoral population of the district.

Kāore pea e taea e ngā kaunihera ruarua noa iho ngā tāngata Māori te eke ki ngā pae tika hei whakatū wāri Māori.

Councils with a low Māori population may not even meet the threshold for having Māori wards.

Ko ēhea ngā kaunihera e matea ana kia whakatū pōtitake i te tau 2025?/Which councils would be polled in 2025?

I ēnei rā, e whā anake ngā kaunihera, kāore he wāri Māori mai i Te Tai Tokerau ki Marlborough. Heoi anō, kāore he wāri Māori, he rohe pōti Māori rānei, ki te tonga o te tāone o Marlborough.

Nowadays there are only four councils without Māori wards between the Far North and Marlborough. No Māori wards or constituencies exist past Marlborough.

O ngā kaunihera e 78 o Aotearoa, me whakatau e 44 mehemea ka mukua noa, ka whakatūria he pōtitake-here rānei ki ō rātou wāri Māori hei te pōtitanga 2025. Kotahi anō me whakatau i mua i te 2028 kē.

Of New Zealand’s 78 councils, 44 will have to either dump their Māori wards ahead of the next elections or put them to a 2025 public vote. One more has till 2028.

He aha ngā āhuatanga wāri a muri i te pōti?/What might happen to wards after polling?

Hei tā te Ahorangi Meihana Durie (Ngāti Kauwhata), he kaiwhakangahau wā roa mō ngā wāri Māori i Manawatū, ka patu rawa ngā pōtitake-here i te ānga kaha mō ngā wāri Māori.

Professor Meihana Durie (Ngāti Kauwhata), a long-time campaigner for Māori wards in Manawatū, said referendums crushed council momentum for Māori wards.

'He kaha rawa tā te tokomaha i runga i te pōtitake-here, engari kē he iti iho te [Māori] i tēnei whenua. Ko te tirohanga katoa he utauta tōkeke, he utauta tika hoki ngā pōtitake hei ine i ngā tirohanga me ngā whakapono o tētahi iwi, he tino hē tēnā,' tana kī.

“Referendums are based on a majority, and [Māori] are a minority in this country. The whole view that referendums are a fair and equitable tool to measure the views and perspectives of a community, that’s profoundly inaccurate,” he said.

Ko ēhea ngā kaunihera kore pōtitake?/Which councils won’t be polled?

Ko te Kaunihera o Wairoa tētahi o aua kaunihera tōmua e rua kāore e pāngia, i muri i tana pōtitake i 2016, nāna i whakatū, kua whakaaetia te wāri, 54% ki te 46%. E toru ngā kaikaunihera o te wāri Māori, e toru ngā kaikaunihera o te rohe auraki, me te mea.

Wairoa District Council is one of those two pre-2021 councils that won’t be affected, after a 2016 council-initiated poll backed Māori wards, 54% to 46%. It has three Māori ward councillors, three general ward councillors and a mayor.

Ko Kaunihera a-Rohe o Waikato tērā atu kaunihera me ngā rohe pōti Māori e rua i hangaia i te 2011 i ora ai i te ture tawhito (kāore he pōtitake-here i tonoa).

Waikato Regional Council is the other council with two constituencies created in 2011 that survived the old law (with no poll demanded).

Heoi anō, i whakarewaina e te Kaunihera a-Rohe o Waiariki e toru ngā rohe pōti Māori i te 2004 i raro i te ture motuhake, arā, te Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council, meanwhile, launched three Māori constituencies in 2004 under the separate Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001.

Ko ēnei kaunihera tokotoru e kore e whakararutia e te kaupapa.

These three councils are untouched by the plan.

He paku raru ki te Kaunihera o Tauranga i te 2020, ā, i tēnei wā tonu, e whā nga komihana e whakahaeretia ana te tāone rā. Ka tū tana pōtitanga hei te Hūrae, ā, i muri iho me whakakore tōna wāri Māori, me hoatu rānei ki tētahi pōtitake-here i mua i te pōtitanga 2028.

Tauranga City Council had a wee glitch in 2020 and, as of this explainer, is run by four commissioners. It holds council elections in July after which it must either dissolve its Māori ward or put it to a public poll in time for the 2028 election.

Ka whakarewaina e te Kaunihera o Ōpōtiki ngā wāri Māori i te pōtitanga 2025 nā tana whakatū pōtitake-kore here i muri mai i te 2021, mō ngā wāri. Kāore e hiahiatia kia whakatū i tētahi pōtitake anō.

Ōpōtiki District Council will launch Māori wards in the 2025 election after holding a post-2021 non-binding poll itself on wards. It won’t need to hold another poll.

E hia te utu o ngā pōtitake paetata?/How much could a bunch of local referendums cost?

Kei tēnā, kei tēna anō he whakautu kē, engari i te 2020, he pōtitake nā te Kaunihera Takiwā o Whangārei, e hiahia ana ki te whakatū i ngā wāri Māori, i whakapaetia he utu i waenganui i te $100,000 me te $110,000. I Kaipara, ko te utu e whakapae ana ko te $30,000.

It depends who you ask but, in 2020, a poll by Whangārei District Council, wanting to establish Māori wards, was estimated to cost between $100,000 and $110,000. In Kaipara, the estimated cost was $30,000.

I te 2015, i whakahaeretia e te Kaunihera o Nū Pāremata tētahi pōtitake motuhake mō ngā wāri Māori, e utu ana i te $71,418.

In 2015, the New Plymouth District Council ran a standalone poll on Māori wards, which cost $71,418.

Kāore i te tika ngā wāri mō te manapori?/Are wards undemocratic?

Ko te 'whakawāritanga', he mea pai tonu tēnei, ā, he wāhanga kē tēnei o tō tātou papanga manapori.

Wardification, it’s actually a good thing ‒ and already part of our democratic fabric.

Hei tā te Kaihautū mō ngā Ture Māori me te Tautake i Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Takuta Carwyn Jones, he pai noa iho ngā mahi pēnei i ngā wāri Māori.

Kaihautū for Māori Laws and Philosophy at Te Wānanga o Raukawa Dr Carwyn Jones said efforts like Māori wards are just good practice.

Ko ngā mana taketake pēnei i te ōritetanga me te kore whakahāwea - e tuku reo ana ki ngā hapori kāore he reo - tētahi mea e mōhiotia ana e ngā manapori katoa he mea hira, tana kī.

Fundamental rights like equality and non-discrimination ‒ giving voice to under-represented communities ‒ is something all democracies recognise as important, he said.

Kei te wehe kē mātou i tō mātou iwi ki ngā rohe pōti hei whakarite i te whakaahuahanga tika. 'Kāore ā mātou pūnaha e pōti-katoa ai tātou katoa, ā, ko ngā tāngata e 100 o runga noa e whakatūria ana ki te Pāremata.'

We already divide our nation into electorates to ensure effective representation. “We don't have a system where we all just vote at large and, say, the top 100 people get appointed to Parliament.”

Kāore he mea tino rerekē mō ngā wāri Māori - e whakarite ana kia uru ngā tāngata kāore anō kia 'āwhina, kia rongo pai rānei'.

There’s nothing fundamentally different about Māori wards ‒ they ensure people who haven’t been “well-served or well-heard” can be involved.

Hei tā te Te Kahui Kaunihera ō Aotearoa: Ināianei kei a tātou te whakaahuahanga teitei rawa atu o ngā mema Māori i pōtitia i roto i te ao kāwanatanga a-rohe.

As Local Government NZ points out: We now have the highest representation of Māori elected members in local government ever.

Heoi anō, i te mutunga, he pēhea te ngaro wāri?/So, in conclusion, how does it feel to lose your wards?

Tērā ētahi take maha i kore ai e pai te kaupapa wāri ki te Māori, engari e tika ana kia ruku anō i tā Jones' whakapae 'pōti-katoa' hei whakamārama noa iho i ngā take e whakahōha ana i a rātou.

There are myriad reasons why the wards issue doesn’t feel good to Māori, but it's worth exploring Jones' at-large hypothetical further if only to explain some of the frustration.

Whakaarohia kāore he rohe pōti i Aotearoa me te aha i mau i a Tāmaki Makaurau te nuinga o nga tūru pāremata ia pōtitanga ia pōtitanga. Nā ngā kaitono Tāmaki e rorotu ana i patu ngā kaitono o ia taone nui, ia taone iti me ia rohe taiwhenua i Aotearoa whānui. (Kaua e māharahara, he tino pai rawa a Tāmaki Makaurau - he whakapae noa iho tēnei.)

Imagine there were no electorates in Aotearoa and Aucklanders always took a whopping majority of parliamentary seats. Popular Auckland candidates beat candidates from every other individual city, town and province in the country. (Don’t worry, Auckland is super cool ‒ we're just spit-balling here.)

E matea ana he pōti kia waihanga rohe pōti mō ngā takiwā i waho o Tāmaki, ā, he tokomaha ake ngā kaipōti nō Tāmaki i te toenga i te wā katoa. Mehemea e hiahia ana a Pōneke ki te rohe pōti, he tokomaha kaipōti ake ā Tāmaki. Mehemea e hiahia ana a Ōtautahi ki tētahi rohe pōti, he tokomaha kaipōti ake ā Tāmaki anō. Waihōpai, anō.

Any attempt to create electorates for non-Aucklanders is put to a public vote ‒ where Aucklanders can also outvote everyone. If Wellington wants an electorate, Aucklanders hold the majority vote. If Christchurch wants an electorate, Aucklanders vote on it. Invercargill, etc.

Ahakoa e whakaae ana ngā Mema nō Tāmaki ki ngā rohe pōti, ka taea e rātou ko ngā kaipōti te whakakore.

Even if Aucklander MPs agree to electorates, they can be reversed.

He hua pai pea ki te iwi whānui, i te whakapae noa nei, ina i tukua e Tāmaki ētahi whakaahuahanga.

For the sake of the nation as a whole, in this hypothetical, it might be good for Auckland to cede some representation.

Engari ko te whakataunga tō rātou noa.

But the decision is theirs.

Ngā kaunihera wāri Māori/Māori ward councils

Ngā kaunihera whai wāri Māori, rohe pōti rānei (i tū kē, kia whakakīa rānei hei te pōtitanga 2025):

Councils with Māori wards or constituencies (either in place or to be filled in 2025 elections):

Far North District Council, Whāngarei DC, Kaipara DC, Thames-Coromandel DC, Hauraki DC, Waikato DC, Matamata-Piako DC, Hamilton City Council, Waipā DC, Ōtorohanga DC, Taupō DC, Western Bay of Plenty DC, Tauranga CC, Rotorua DC, Whakatāne DC, Kawerau DC, Ōpotiki DC, Gisborne DC, Wairoa DC, Hastings DC, Napier CC, Central Hawke’s Bay DC, New Plymouth DC, Stratford DC, South Taranaki DC, Ruapehu DC, Whanganui DC, Rangitikei DC, Manawatū DC, Palmerston North CC, Tararua DC, Horowhenua DC, Kāpiti Coast DC, Porirua CC, Upper Hutt CC, Hutt CC, Wellington CC, Masterton DC, South Wairarapa DC, Tasman DC, Nelson CC, Marlborough DC. Northland Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council.