Nerves and frustration as South Island councils vote on Māori constituencies

This week, the South Island’s top three councils will decide on the future of their Māori constituencies, with current councillors hoping to vote to keep them.

The meetings are being held in line with changes made by the Government to the Electoral Act, which mean that the 45 councils that decided to create Māori electoral districts in late 2020 have until Friday to reconsider their decisions.

Nelson and Marlborough councils introduced Māori electoral districts for the first time at the last local government elections, while elected council members in Tasmania voted in 2023 to create a Māori electoral district at the next election in 2025.

If they decide to keep the constituencies, the final say will rest with voters in a referendum.

Marlborough ward councillor Allanah Burgess said taking up office for the first time in 2022 was a scary experience.

“It’s something we’ve never experienced before, we’ve never seen ourselves do it, and I think just recognizing that we’ve never been in this situation before is important.

“Saying, ‘actually we recognise that you haven’t been here and we recognise that you need to be here, so we’re making sure there’s 100 per cent at least one Māori there’, because they can’t promise that anywhere else.”

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She added that the results of the research in Marlborough were positive, and not just among Māori.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of non-Māori people have been talking to me about council issues as well, which I’ve found really cool. It’s really made me feel like I’ve cemented that piece, not just for Māori but for everyone.”

She expressed hope that councillors would make a unanimous decision at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I would like us to come in, share our thoughts and unanimously vote to keep the seat and unanimously say in an open forum that each and every one of us promises to add to the oath that we took as councillors and then advocate in the community that the seat in the Māori ward should remain.”

Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor has said the introduction of a Māori electoral district has been beneficial to the council and recommends it be retained.

“It was an exciting development for Marlborough and it had broad support from council at the time and I have to say that the addition of a Māori ward and a Māori ward councillor has been of great benefit to council and the province and certainly to the constituents that the councillor represents.”

Taylor said the council will ensure Burgess feels supported in the upcoming process.

“It’s not a referendum on her, it’s a referendum on a position and I know that in Marlborough for example we have rural wards and there’s been a lot of discussion around our council table about why one ward should be put up for a referendum.”

In Nelson, first-term Māori district councillor Kahu PakiPaki said it was disappointing the decision to remove the district less than two years after it was created.

“Who we represent and what interests we seek to advance are part of a bigger picture. What frustrates me most is that we play the long game and that it is an intergenerational game.

“The results and outcomes may not be visible to us in our generation, but I hope our mokopuna are in a place where they don’t have to go through the trials and tribulations that we did.”

He said the ward provided Māori in Whakatū/Nelson with proportionate representation in local government.

“My seat represents eight percent of our community… we’re asking for that eight percent to be represented on our council, we need more than 50 percent of the community to agree that those eight percent should have a say, that’s unfair.”

Mayor Nick Smith said there was also a desire to retain the Nelson constituency, but there were differing views on the matter among councillors and across the region.

“There is some concern in the community about the way the Māori ward has been created because the community has not felt they had a say, there are others who are vehemently opposed to holding a referendum, my ambition is simply to allow our community to have a calm and considered discussion on this issue.”

Marlborough will decide on the future of its Māori riding on Tuesday, while Nelson and Tasman will debate the future of their ridings at meetings on Thursday.