Māori wards are about representation, not division
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Herewini Ammunson, a lawyer and chairperson of the Papawai Marae Trust, shares his reasons for supporting Māori wards and explains why they are not something to fear.
OPINION: One of my earliest memories is being at our marae, one of the little kids playing around while our kaumātua welcomed their Māori Battalion and WWII mates.
To me, they were real-life superheroes.
Koro Kingi Matthews and his generation had grown up without the same rights and opportunities as other New Zealanders, and the war had been their chance to prove themselves.
And they did.
But when they returned home, what they could not bring back with them was the partnership with the Crown that their own kaumātua had signed on our behalf.
That partnership was – and still is – about collective rights.
It was never just about individuals, but about iwi and hapū being able to stand alongside government in decisions that affect us all.
The promise of te Tiriti o Waitangi will take many more years to be honoured.
When our uncles returned from Cassino and marched into Greytown all those years ago, the laws of the government of the day meant they had to drink their beers outside on the footpath.
Those laws weren’t made by locals – they were made in Wellington.
The same government banned Māori veterans from being given free ballot farms which many of our friends enjoy today.
Yet today, if you walk into the Workies, Koro Kingi’s framed photo is at the door. He’s a life member, and when he received his QSM we celebrated it there.
That story matters because it shows how things can change. What once excluded Māori voices can, over time, become a place that honours them.
Māori wards in local government are another step in that same journey. And these decisions are not abstract – they affect our whenua and our whānau directly.
One thing you only know if you live out at Papawai is that the sewage ponds are nearby. Of all the places the council of the day could have chosen, they placed them next to our marae.
In Carterton, the ponds sit right beside the last remaining pieces of collectively owned hapū land in the township.
These things didn’t happen by accident. They are part of a pattern repeated across Aotearoa.
This is what happens when there are no Māori voices representing our families at the council table.
Māori people – iwi, hapū, whānau – want the same things for our communities that everyone else does: thriving environments, good infrastructure, strong health services and wellbeing for all.
Out at our marae the restoration of our stream has been made possible by our Papawai community working together, our Pākehā locals and our marae whānau.
This was an initiative that began around 30 years ago with our marae calling our locals together, concerned at the pollution and decline.
The stream restoration project is now mostly led by our wider community.
Māori wards are not divisive. They won’t take anything away from anyone.
Instead, they are another step towards Tiriti-based representation, making sure Māori collective voices are present in the rooms where decisions are made.
Bringing Māori perspectives into council discussions isn’t something to be afraid of.
It should be something that excites us all. Diversity of thought leads to new solutions, new opportunities, and creative ways forward.
Māori wards don’t mean fewer seats or less influence for anyone else. Māori wards are not a threat – they are an opportunity.
An opportunity to make good on a promise made generations ago, and to build stronger, fairer, more united communities here for all our families in Wairarapa.