People say they want Māori wards in wider Manawatū and Horowhenua

Saturday, 15 May 2021

Horizons Regional councillor Wiremu Te Awe Awe will get a chance to vote for Māori wards on Wednesday.

Māori across wider Manawatū have given a clear message about what they think of having Māori wards – get it done.

Horowhenua and Tararua district councils, as well as Horizons Regional Council, are set to separately decide if they should have Māori wards in time for the 2022 local body elections.

Horowhenua and Horizons will vote on Wednesday, and Tararua on Tuesday.

The votes come at a time of heightened tension in Manawatū over Māori representation around council tables.

Hundreds took part in a hīkoi through Feilding on Tuesday, protesting Manawatū District Council’s decision to not put Māori wards in place in time for the 2022 election.

Manawatū iwi and supporters' historic hīkoi through Feilding, calling on the Manawatū District Council to reconsider its stance on Māori wards.

* Departing advisor fearful of 'significant damage' to council, iwi relations

* Hundreds of people join historic march for Māori wards in Manawatū

Horowhenua District Council has had Māori councillors elected into general seats since the 1980s, but Wīremu Te Awe Awe was the first Māori elected to Horizons when he took office in 2016.

Horowhenua District Council will also consider Māori wards at a meeting on Wednesday.

He withdrew Te Rangimārie marae from Manawatū District Council’s iwi advisory committee as a result of the council’s decision on Māori wards.

Horizons’ strategy and policy committee voted in March to investigate having Māori wards in time for the 2025 election, but the full council voted 7-5 to investigate having them in time for 2022.

The change of heart put pressure on Horizons staff to consult with voters, as the council must decide by May 21 if it will have the wards or not.

Voting for Māori wards would trigger a representation review across all Horizons seats, including how many seats there would be.

Having more councillors would reduce each councillor’s pay, as the Remuneration Authority assigns a pool of money to each council on the basis of a council’s governance role, not the total number of councillors.

Horizons sent surveys to people on the Māori roll in the region – stretching from Whanganui to Tararua and Ruapehu to Horowhenua – asking if they wanted Māori wards.

According to a summary of the results published on Horizons’ website, 91 per cent of people who answered the question said they wanted the wards in time for the 2022 elections.

Some Māori who were not on the Māori roll were also surveyed , with 80 per cent of them in support of Māori wards.

The surveys also asked how people thought the wards should be structured, with the council likely to have two Māori seats.

Fifty-three per cent of people said they wanted one constituency covering the Horizons area, while 46 per cent wanted two Māori wards with a councillor in each.

Comments in the surveys suggested aligning two wards on district and city council lines, using the Rangitīkei River as a boundary, or running along iwi and hapū boundaries.

In Horowhenua’s case, 178 of the 227 survey responses wanted a Māori ward.

Much of the feedback to Horowhenua District Council said having a Māori ward – the council would likely get one Māori seat if it went ahead – was needed for it to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Some against the wards said they were segregationist and unequal.

Tararua District Council is considering Māori wards after requests from Rangitāne o Tāmakinui-a-Rua and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmakinui-a-Rua.

Palmerston North City Council voted in April to have Māori seats.