Andrew Judd at a council Māori wards meeting in Whangārei.
Photo: Susan Botting / LDR
Andrew Judd was New Plymouth Mayor in 2014 when the council voted to establish a Māori ward.
It was thrown out a year later in a citizens-initiated poll in which 83 percent of those who took part voted it down.
Judd, who describes himself as a recovering racist, didn t stand for re-election in 2016, saying he didn t want to be responsible for dividing the community any further.
Ever since he has campaigned to have the Māori wards poll provision removed from the Local Electoral Act.
But not all around the Strategy and Operations Committee table agreed, with councillors Murray Chong and Richard Jordan voting against the recommendation. Chong, who has championed a petition calling for a referendum on NPDC s Māori ward, said he wanted to see more binding referendums as they were about hearing from the community.
SIMON O CONNOR/Stuff
Councillor Murray Chong said he wanted more referendums, not just on Māori wards. He referred to the last time the council approved a Māori ward, which was later overturned in a referendum. “Six years ago they thought they had it right. A referendum showed what the people were thinking,” he said.
Three wāhine throw hats into ring for Northland Regional Council byelection
13 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM
2 minutes to read Whangarei s Darleen Tana Hoff-Nielsen a Northland Regional Council byelection candidate. Photo / Susan Botting
Susan Botting is the Local Democracy Reporter for Northlandsusan.botting@northernadvocate.co.nz
Three Whangārei women who have publicly thrown their hat into the ring for the Northland Regional Council byelection are all in favour of Māori seats.
Whangārei s Fiona Douglas, Darleen Tana Hoff-Nielsen (Ngāpuhi) and Charlotte Toner all say having Māori seats is a plus for councils.
Northland Regional Council (NRC) has been forced into an $80,000 byelection after former deputy-chair and longtime councillor John Bain resigned on the spot and walked out of the council s October 20 meeting just before councillors voted for Māori constituencies.