Selwyn council welcomes mana whenua representative

Monday, 18 September 2023

Megen McKay will have voting rights on council committees, but cannot vote in council meetings.

Lawyer Megen McKay (Ngāi Tahu) has been named as Te Taumutu rūnanga’s representative at the Selwyn District Council.

In remarks to the first council meeting since her appointment, McKay said she would bring a “whole heap of skills to the job”, but also “the lens of a community that should have a voice at all levels of council”.

She acknowledged the work done by the Te Taumutu executive team and the council to create the role, and said her commitment was “to do a really good job, not just for my hapu, but for everybody that lives in the Selwyn district”.

The selection comes after a council decision in December to meet commitments made in a relationship agreement signed by Te Taumutu Rūnanga and the council late last year.

Te Taumutu rūnanga chairperson Liz Brown said McKay’s selection was an example of the council’s commitment to working with mana whenua in true partnership for the benefit of Waikirikiri Selwyn.

Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton said the appointment was a “proud moment” for the council “as we take another step in our partnership with mana whenua and put into practice the commitments made under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to be a community of partnership, working together for the better of our whenua”.

McKay has worked on the strategy and influence team at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as kaihautu (general manager), deputy chairperson and kaitiakitanga (environment) portfolio leader within the Ruahikihiki hapū community (Taumutu rūnanga) and is an independent hearing commissioner.

She is also the director of Kaitorete Limited, which is the rūnanga partner of Project Tāwhaki (a Crown-Rūnanga joint venture that aims to undertake ecological restoration of Kaitorete Spit while developing aerospace and research and development facilities).

McKay has full participation and voting rights on council committees and can attend and speak at council meetings.

Under the Local Government Act, non-elected appointees are not able to vote at local authority meetings.

The Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act, passed in 2022, empowers Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to appoint up to two members of the Environment Canterbury Council with full decision-making powers.