Wellington City Council agrees in principle to establish a Maori neighborhood

Wellington City Council has agreed in principle to establish a Maori neighborhood in time for the 2022 elections.

Councilors voted 12-3 on Thursday to establish the district in the upcoming local government elections, subject to discussions with Maori and mana whenua.

The results of that feedback will be communicated to councilors before May 13, and the final decision will be made before May 21. Members of the general community will also be able to provide feedback.

Thursday’s vote followed a motion notice filed by Councilwoman Jill Day, who holds the council’s portfolio of Maori associations, on February 2.

READ MORE:
* Wellington City Councilor files notice of motion to establish Maori neighborhood
* Councilors will vote on granting voting rights to iwi at Wellington City Council.
* A Maori ward will be established for the Tauranga City Council in the 2022 elections

The decision to establish a Maori neighborhood was independent of a previous council decision to investigate the addition of two iwi representatives to all council committees.

Councilors would consider a report on those findings on March 25.

Day said during a council policy and strategy committee meeting on Thursday that Māori representation on the council could not be “left to chance.”

She was the first Maori woman elected to the council, in 2016, and was so amazed by the statistic that she asked the council staff at the time to “triple-check” it.

“We have a housing crisis, a water crisis, a climate crisis, and Maori are disproportionately affected by these problems, by homelessness and by living in cold and damp homes,” Day said.

“It is essential that we, as Maori, are involved in solving these problems.”

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta recently announced sweeping changes to the legislation on the establishment of Maori districts from 2022, including laws that would support the council’s decisions to establish them.

Currently, Maori districts can be overruled at the public ballot box prompted by petitions that draw 5% of the council’s voters.

Day said there were 24 councils that had tried to establish Maori districts under the current system, and 22 had failed.

The two councils that decided to establish them faced significant community opposition, he said.

“The Maori voice must be on the table, we cannot leave it to chance.”

Councilor Sean Rush said he found Day’s “narrative” that settlers had stolen land from the Maori “difficult to hear” and “quite offensive.”

However, he said that city officials were still not “looking out” for the Maori community. Rush voted in favor of the proposal.

Councilor Rebecca Matthews responded to Rush saying that “Maori are fully capable of taking care of themselves.”

Deputy Mayor Sarah Free said the council was “standing on the cusp of something quite important.”

“We will be on the right side of history in supporting this,” he said.

Councilwoman Nicola Young said she did not support the proposal because it was focused on water infrastructure and keeping rates low.

He expressed concern about the cost of the consultation, as many projects in his art portfolio had to be delayed due to lack of money.

“This is a distraction because we have s … running through the streets,” he said.

Councilor Malcolm Sparrow questioned whether the change was necessary and whether the Maori really wanted it.

“It has been suggested that we are putting the cart before the horse on it. Are we being asked to agree to something in principle before it becomes clear that we really want it? “

Councilwoman Diane Calvert wanted the change considered at the council’s next scheduled proxy review in 2023.

A representation review would now be completed in November and determine the total number of councilors, the names of the districts and boundaries, and whether any councilors would be elected at large (not from a district).

Day told Rush in his right to reply after the discussion that he was “regretting that the truth is offensive.”