Far North Mayor calls on New Zealanders to vote for Māori wards in October
Photo:
LDR / NZME
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania is calling on all New Zealanders to vote to keep Māori wards at the October local elections polling.
On 11 October polling will close at 42 councils on whether to continue with Māori wards.
Earlier polls have typically resulted in councils' Māori ward plans being canned.
But the Far North mayor has predicted that will change, because in places like his district people have had a chance to see their Māori wards in action.
Tepania predicts Far Northerners will poll in favour of keeping Far North District Council (FNDC)'s Ngā Tai o Tokerau Maori ward and Northland Regional Council (NRC)'s Te Raki Māori constituency.
"I am optimistic that because of (Te Tai Tokerau's) Waitangi, the home of the nation where He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni /Declaration of Independence of New Zealand and Te Tiriti o Waitangi were signed, there'll be a positive vote by electors to keep our Māori ward.
"If anywhere in New Zealand can do it, we can," Tepania said.
Almost 52 percent of people in the Far North identify as Māori, one of New Zealand's highest percentages.
Tepania, who is Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ)'s Northland board member, said he did not agree with the requirement for his council to have to poll electors about its Māori ward.
The council in September said it was
not a foregone conclusion
polling would happen after it chose to recommit to its Māori ward.
FNDC first polled its electors on setting up a Māori ward during a 2015 representation review. Two-thirds of electors voted against this, one-third for. The binding poll precluded the establishment of a Māori ward in the following two elections - 2016 and 2019.
Tepania said that rejection was because Far Northerners had not had a chance to see a Māori ward in action.
That had changed with Ngā Tai o Tokerau starting life three years ago.
The council's first term Māori ward had surpassed expectations.
He claimed there were many achievements that had been made - for all constituents - with the presence of the ward and its four councillors.
Māori ward councillors' connections into the community had helped make significant infrastructure improvements for all in the Far North, he said.
Examples of this included working towards resolving longstanding Kaitāia Airport land ownership issues.
Māori ward Cr Hilda Halkyard-Harawira had received an award from LGNZ's Te Maruata Māori council politicians' group for her mahi including the airport where she championed the return of the land the airport sits on to Ngāi Takoto and Te Pātu, and government funding.
She'd also had a key role in working towards a more environmentally and culturally sustainable solution to address growing local community concerns over wastewater discharging into Hokianga Harbour, Tepania said.
Māori ward Cr Tāmati Rākena had played a key role in the North Hokianga roading working group, successfully dealing with the Panguru and Motuti slips. The group was formally set up in 2024 between the council and mana whenua to address local roading issues.
Northland Māori ward politicians currently make up 20 percent of the region's elected representatives.
Tepania said Māori wards went towards council meeting its requirements to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi under the Local Government Act.
Polling outcomes will take effect from the 2028 local elections, with the decision being binding for the 2028 and 2031 elections.
Northlanders across Far North District Council (FNDC), Whangārei District Council (WDC) and Northland Regional Council (NRC) are among electors at 42 councils who will get to have their say in the binding poll with the following words:
"I vote to keep the Māori ward / constituency"
"I vote to remove the Māori ward / constituency"
FNDC's Cr Kapa said Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori ward had given Māori a voice they'd not had previously.
He said it offered a path inside the council chamber for those who had sat outside.
And it brought new opportunity for Māori outside traditional leadership roles to take part.
He said it was important all local election voters in the Far North voted and also had their polling say in October.
Kapa said the council was now working more closely with Northland iwi as a result of the new electoral areas.
Its Te Pae o Uta policy underpinning how the council included Te Ao Māori in its operations had boosted responsiveness to the local community.
Te Kahu o Taonui (Northland Iwi Chairs Forum) member Pita Tipene co-chaired the council's Te Kauaka Māori committee.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Nearly 300 visa applications from Israelis, Palestinians and Iranians in lpast month
Photo: RNZ Immigration New Zealand has received nearly 300 offshore visa applications from Israeli, Palestinian and Iranian nationals since 1 June 2025. It follows the most recent armed conflict between Israel and Iran, which started on 13 June when Israel launched an air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders. In a statement to RNZ, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said the government agency "understands the difficult situation this crisis is causing for many and has great sympathy for those separated from their loved ones during this stressful time". INZ acting director visa Marcelle Foley said 277 offshore visa applications from Israelis , Palestinians and Iranians had been made across all visa categories since the start of last month. The vast majority were Iranian nationals. "230 visa applications were submitted from Iranian nationals," Foley said. "Of those, 93 have been approved and seven declined. The remaining applications are either still under assessment or have been withdrawn. "Forty-one applications were submitted by Israeli nationals. Twenty-four have been approved, one was declined, and the remainder are still being processed. "Six applications were submitted from Palestinian nationals, with two approved and the rest currently under assessment." INZ also revealed that since 7 October 2023, a total of 8634 New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) applications have been granted to Israeli nationals. "Israel is a visa waiver country. This means Israeli citizens visiting New Zealand temporarily do not need to apply for a visitor visa but must obtain a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA)," said Marcelle Foley, Acting Director Visa. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Traumatised German woman who found 'real love and care' in NZ allowed to stay
By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter of Photo: Mongkol Chuewong A German woman with post-traumatic stress disorder found "real love and care" for the first time in New Zealand. Now she will be allowed to stay here, at least for now, after a tribunal blocked her possible deportation following the expiry of her visa. The 33-year-old woman left Germany 10 years ago, arrived in New Zealand in 2020, and has been here unlawfully without a visa since September last year. Although she has qualifications in hospitality management and has been studying towards becoming a community support worker, her application to renew a work visa was turned down in August 2024. She has been liable for deportation since her visa ran out. In that time, she started a relationship with a New Zealand citizen. The Immigration and Protection Tribunal said that although they had been a couple for only five months, they had been friends for longer and were in a "genuine relationship". "If the appellant cannot remain in New Zealand, this will likely result in the couple being separated," according to a recent tribunal decision. "The tribunal accepts that the appellant's deportation will cause significant difficulty and distress for her, as she will be deprived of her partner, who is currently her key support figure." The woman's name was redacted from the published version of the tribunal decision. The tribunal said it had received 20 letters of support in the woman's favour. The decision said that the woman suffered from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) arising from things that happened to her in Germany. "The only connection she associates with her home country, Germany, is the past trauma she experienced there," it said. Although her immediate family remained in Germany, she had no functional family relationships there and no meaningful connections. "The appellant states that she is anxious and distressed at the possibility of returning to Germany. "She writes that without a family that cares, or friends, she would not survive there as she has no reason to live there. "She also fears reliving painful memories of her past," the tribunal said. "The appellant writes that before arriving in New Zealand, she had never known 'real love and care'." It said that apart from her CPTSD, for which she is still receiving counselling, the woman had an acceptable standard of health and a clean record. It found there were "exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature" making it unjust or unduly harsh for the woman to be deported. The tribunal ordered that the woman be given a work visa for 12 months, which would allow her time to continue her therapy and work towards a partnership-based application for residence. - This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Auckland councillor Mike Lee plans further bid to block private helipads
Mike Lee wants to change city ordinances before the upcoming local body elections. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Auckland councillor Mike Lee is leading a new push to ban private helipads in residential areas of the city. The Waitematā and Gulf councillor intends raising two notices of motion at the policy and planning committee meeting on 24 July. "One is for the Hauraki Gulf Islands District Plan, which covers Waiheke and Great Barrier Island, essentially, where helipads have been a major problem with local people. "The other one covers the western bays of Auckland and so that's the Auckland Unitary Plan." "One notice of motion applies to the Auckland situation - the mainland situation - and the other applies to the Gulf Islands," he said. The announcement comes days after billionaire entrepreneur Anna Mowbray and former-All Black husband Ali Williams were given permission to build a helipad at their $24 million waterfront home in Westmere. The commissioners' decision released on Monday 30 June stated flights would be limited to no more than two per day and 10 per month. According to Auckland Council, of 1397 written submissions made on the application, most - 1227, or 87 percent - opposed the helipad on Rawene Avenue, 108 were supportive, and 12 were neutral. "This latest decision, according to the commissioner, Kit Littlejohn, says helipads are enabled in residential areas as a permitted activity and has gone so far, quite extraordinarily, to assert that helicopters are equivalent to cars and they're intrinsic to residential living, which is a pretty extreme argument," Lee said. "I don't think most people would agree with that, but nonetheless, the unitary plan is not as clear on this matter as everyone had assumed until now and, therefore, the need for clarity is quite urgent really. "Why should people be disturbed in their own homes and properties by people who are making an awful racket, and flying aircraft into the neighbourhood." He believed many Aucklanders agreed with him and that helipads in residential areas created a large volume of complaints. "It's not designed to be a ban on helicopters or helipads," Lee said. "It's private residential use that we're concerned about, because that's what causes all the complaints. "When you think about it, landing an aircraft in a built-up area as a routine means of transport is just crazy and it's unacceptable. "We have to tidy it up and give people certainty, that's even the Mowbrays - Ali Williams and Miss Mowbray - who spent three years and I guess a hell of a lot of money on this application. "People like that need some certainty as well, because the way things are now, it's quite a mess and needs to be tidied up." The Auckland councillor has previously attempted to ban private helipads in residential areas, but his motion in March last year lost 10-8. "I have tried in the past, of course, and narrowly failed to get the majority of councillors and the mayor to vote for making helipads in residential areas a prohibited activity," Lee said. "There's an election coming up and we don't have that much time in the current term of this council to do something about it, and I was determined to do something in this term of the council." The Auckland councillor said he'd like the city to follow some Australian cities that have prohibited private helipads in residential areas, unless they have a Fly Neighbourly Agreement with local residents. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
