22 November 2023

For immediate release

Kawerau District Council votes yes to establish Māori wards for 2025 elections

Kawerau District Council has voted yes to establishing one or more Māori wards for the 2025 and 2028 triennial elections.

The decision was made at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, 22 November where the council had invited Tangata whenua iwi and the community to present their feedback directly to elected members during the public forum.

With 61.7% of Kawerau’s population identifying as Māori (2018 Census), Council invited the views and preference of Tangata Whenua and Iwi in making this decision to establish Māori ward/s for the rohe | district.

Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora Trust were among the submitters who presented via zoom along with other members of the community who presented in person to the Mayor and councillors at the extraordinary meeting.

This decision followed an engagement process carried out by the Council from late September to November 2023 that included meetings with Tangata Whenua Iwi and the community.

Mayor Faylene Tunui wished to thank the community and submitters for sharing their views and for presenting their feedback to the elected members today with such great respect.

“We are governed by systems that determine these electoral processes, but it is people who look after people and we have seen that honoured today by the community and our team of elected members. We make the decisions today, to lay the foundations for tomorrow.”

To support the process Council engaged Election Services’ Electoral Officer Dale Ofsoske to provide independent oversight, information and guidance on the three elements of the electoral decision process comprising:

1. Review of the electoral voting system (Council agreed to retain the first past the post voting system on 6 September 2023);
2. Review of the establishment of Māori ward/s;
3. Review of the representation arrangements (On 6 September 2023, Council agreed to undertake a representation arrangements review regardless of whether Māori ward/s are established).

Council received some 165 submissions via an online survey and the Council newsletter and thanks everyone for sharing their views in this process.

Based on the current structure of Kawerau District Council with the Mayor and eight (8) councillors, the vote to establish one or more Māori wards means:

• • four general councillors elected from 1 -4 general wards
  • four Māori councillors elected from 1-4 Māori wards

Kawerau District Council will complete a review of the representation arrangements by October 2024, which will include further engagement and submission processes with Tangata whenua Iwi and the community.

[ENDS]

For more information, please contact Tania Humberstone on 027 464 3785.