Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia chair Waihaere Mason said the law change gave an opportunity to have an iwi voice at the table. “It will also help us to become collectively stronger in our partnership where we work together to make decisions for the good of all . This is a great change and [it s] long overdue.” Three of New Zealand’s 78 councils had Māori wards; Wairoa District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Waikato Regional Council. Nine councils were attempting to run Māori wards in next year s elections, with this week s law change meaning the public could not overturn the council s decision. Previously, if more than 5 per cent of votes signed a petition then the decision went to the public, with the outcome being binding.
A Māori ward is back on the cards in Marlborough after the government announced sweeping changes to a racist law.
Massey University Māori historian and senior lecturer Dr Peter Meihana, who was mana whenua, says a change to Māori ward laws is long overdue .
Photo: Chloe Ranford/LDR
The Marlborough District Council decided not to introduce Māori wards before the November deadline last year, under the region s latest review of its representation arrangements, as there was no interest lodged by iwi or the wider public.
But it will give the issue a second shake following Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta announced that a law relating to Māori wards would be changed. The changes extended the deadline for decisions on Māori wards to May.
But the report showed this was offset by $260,000 made through leased car parks and parking tickets, with parking tickets bringing in $191,000. The council was still predicting an overall revenue drop in its parking account of $636,000 by the end of June, when free parking was set to end. If councillors decided to continue free parking, it could mean a 1 per cent rates increase to balance the account s deficit. Marlborough Mayor John Leggett said at an assets and services committee meeting last week, when presented with the latest report, the council did not want to rely on parking fines to balance out its free parking.
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