A former Whangārei mayor is ecstatic the local council has voted to keep its Māori ward for the next elections – but she says it should have gone further and pushed back against polling the community.
The Whangārei District Council (WDC) today voted to keep its Māori ward for next year’s local elections – and to poll its people on whether to keep the ward, as part of new legal requirements.
More than 250 people showed their support of Māori wards through waiata, haka and speeches inside and outside the council’s chamber, as the at-times emotional meeting unfolded over almost two hours.
Former Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai who successfully drove WDC’s push for the Māori ward’s establishment, said today’s vote was important.
“But if I was still Mayor, I would have pushed not to have the poll as part of that,” Mai said.
After the meeting, Mayor Vince Cocurullo would not be drawn on whether he supported the Māori ward.
But Cocurullo said he was pleased people would have their say in a binding referendum at next year’s elections, which had not been the case when the ward was established for the 2022 local elections.
He was part of a WDC councillor quintet that in 2021 unsuccessfully sought to overthrow his council’s decision to bring in a Māori ward.
Lobbyists from both sides of the Māori wards debate bombarded councillors’ email inboxes with more than 300 emails each, ahead of the meeting.
Images of King Charles and Te Tiriti o Waitangi hung on the wall as the Mayor presided over the landmark meeting, with the flags of Māori ward supporters fluttered in the breeze through the council chamber’s windows, framed by totara.
After the meeting, Te Kahu o Taonui (Northland Iwi Chairs Forum) co-chair Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards said the decision to keep the Māori ward meant the voices of the people had been heard.
He said the decision was important for people across the North and it sent a clear message to the Government that the people of Whangārei were in favour of having a Māori ward.
Atypically, the council did not record each politician’s individual vote in today’s decision.
In contrast, the council recorded voting on a failed move led by Councillor Paul Yovich which pushed to abolish the ward and kickstarted the meeting.
Yovich said there was “no way” he wanted to see New Zealand ripped apart by continuing with Māori wards.
Councillors Jayne Golightly, Marie Olsen and Simon Reid voted in favour of Yovich’s push to can the Māori ward.
However, their early meeting vote was outgunned in a 69% majority vote by Cocurullo, Deputy Mayor Phil Halse and Councillors Nicholas Connop, Ken Couper, Deb Harding, Patrick Homes, Scott McKenzie, Carol Peters and Phoenix Ruka.
Councillor Gavin Benney is currently overseas and did not attend the meeting.
Barbs were fired during the meeting by Democracy Northland’s Frank Newman who said the district’s Māori ward councillors were elected by only 9% of eligible voters.
Democracy Northland chairman and former Northland Regional Council Deputy-Chairman John Bain repeated his group’s call for polling on the WDC Māori ward’s presence at the local elections.
He told the meeting that 8% of Whangārei voters had pushed for a binding referendum on the new Māori ward in the 2020/2021 summer. There were 5135 voters who signed the petition.
But that had been thwarted by the former Government’s law change in February 2021, which meant the petition became invalid.
Kaipara District Council Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori Ward politician Pera Paniora said she was impressed with democracy at today’s meeting. People from both sides of the debate were respected when they spoke.
Her council voted to can its Māori ward for the next elections on August 7, in a New Zealand first.
Whangārei District Māori Ward’s Councillor Ruka said today’s decision was an inter generational one.
It was about planting a tree to provide shade for the generations to come after him that he would never get to meet, Ruka said.
Fellow Māori Ward councillor Deb Harding said having a Māori ward built on the orchestra of views in WDC’s Te Kārearea strategic partnership standing committee, made up of eight councillors and eight mandated hapū representatives.
Collective Ngā Hapū o Whangārei spokesperson Delaraine Armstrong said keeping the Māori ward was a demonstration of Te Tiriti o Waitangi contract between the Crown and Government, including local government, to work in partnership.
Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who attended today’s meeting, praised the decision to keep the Māori ward, but was less enthusiastic about the council polling its people on it.
Northland Regional Council Deputy-Chair Tui Shortland said today’s meeting vote in favour of keeping the ward had been a positive one.
Shortland said she respected today’s WDC decision in favour of polling its voters, even though it was in contrast to her council’s decision this week to investigate the legalities of not doing so while keeping its Te Raki Māori constituency.
She said there were potential constitutional questions about the new legislation requiring polling, even though she acknowledged it had become law on August 1.
Far North District Council votes on the future of its Māori ward next Thursday.
Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.