5. Commission writes to Councils Letters to councils in March, urging them to consider establishing Māori wards or constituencies Urging discussion with Māori, not about Māori 7 councils replied
6.
7. Has your council considered, or does it plan to consider before 23 November 2011, the establishment of Māori wards or constituencies?
18. Instead the proposal will be included on the 2013 local body election ballot papersCouncillor Howie Tamati, one of three who voted for the proposal
19. Palmerston North City Council Planning and policy committee has voted 8-5 against establishing Māori wards Will go to full council vote in late August
20. South Taranaki District Council In July, Council voted 10-5 against establishing Māori wards Iwi Liaison Committee represents the 4 local iwi. Some on the Committee preferred other options, such as increasing the Iwi Liaison Committee.
21. Nelson City Council Proposed merge of Nelson and Tasman Councils Nelson Council consulted Kotahitanga forum on options. Agreed to proposal of Māori ward + Māori Community Board. Tasman District Council opposes merge At Whakatū marae, Nelson
22. Nelson City Council Your experiences What else needs to be done locally and nationally to ensure Māori are represented effectively in Local Government?
Hinweis der Redaktion
The Human Rights Commission takes a strong interest in the issue of Māori representation in Local Government. Maori representation in local government published October 2010, based on interviews with councils and other research Explores legislative provisions for Maori representation in local government, in particular the Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002 which gives all councils the option of establishing Māori wards or constituenciesLooks at the example of Environment Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the only council in the country to have established Maori wards The report recommends councils consult with Māori as to their preferred option and support the option Māori prefer
Letters to all Councils in March urging them to consider establishing Māori wards or constituenciesUrging consultation with Māori as a first step: discussion with Māori, not about Māori7 councils replied saying either they were considering, or would consider this issue by 2015 at the latest (in time for 2016 elections)
The Commission wrote to councils again in July, requesting information: Has your council considered, or does it plan to consider before 23 November 2011, the establishment of Māori wards or constituencies? How many councillors are there on your council, and of those, how many are of Māori descent
Of the 75 councils we wrote to:43 have responded so far16 will be considering the Māori wards option by 23 Nov 6 have considered the option, rejected it, and have no plans to consider it again. In some cases other options were chosen, such as a Maori committee alongside Council 3 will not be considering the option , e.g. Those who have a small Maori population (Mackenzie District Council has Maori pop’n of 4.4%)
Maori representation and the option of establishing Maori wards or constituencies has been a controversial issue for some councils this year. Here we look at some of those cases
New Plymouth District Council voted against proposal to establish 2 Māori seats. Instead the proposal will be included on the 2013 local body election ballot papersDecision led to a walk-out of 60 Māori people who attended the meeting (The decision was made all the more bitter in that it followed a green light for the tino rangatiratanga flag to fly permanently alongside the New Zealand flag in front of the civic centre.“I’m a bit dispirited, a bit frustrated. I had wanted to see this move ahead.“It feels to me a bit like tokenism. They say you can have a flag but you can’t have a vote,” Councillor Howie Tamati said)
Planning and policy committee has voted 8-5 against establishing Māori wards Will go to full council vote in late August Proposal is for 2 Maori wards 28 submissions have been received: 14 in favour, 14 against
In July, Council voted 10-5 against establishing Māori wards Iwi Liaison Committee represents the 4 local iwi. Some on the Committee preferred other options, such as increasing the Iwi Liaison Committee. This could be more representative of the 4 iwi than 2 dedicated seats.
Proposed merge of Nelson and Tasman Councils Nelson Council consulted Kotahitanga forum on options. Agreed to proposal of Māori ward + Māori Community Board, in order to allow a representative from each of the local iwi at Community Board level Tasman District Council opposes merge, on the basis that it already provides effective local government and a merger may see rural interests overlooked Proposal is currently with Local Government Commission. Human Rights Commission has made a submission in favour of Nelson City Council’s proposal to establish Maori wards. Timeline is: December 2011 - LGC Final DecisionMarch 2012 - Polls HeldApril 2012 - Order in Council prepared to give effect to the scheme (if poll successful). The Order in Council would constitute the Transition Committee.October 2012 - Elections*1 November 2012 - Council takes office.
Close of presentation about background to this issue, and some of the Commission’s work. We would now like to hear from you about your experiences with this issue
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