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Councillor Iona Pannett said the decision marked a “great day” for Wellington, while colleague Teri O’Neill said the council had a “moral responsibility” to give Māori a greater voice at the council table. Deputy Mayor Sarah Free said the majority of objections to establishing a Māori ward were based on not following democratic process, but “ideas about what’s deemed fair have been changing rapidly over the past two decades”. She pointed to the change in New Zealand’s general election voting system from first past the post to MMP (mixed-member proportional) in 1996. Councillors will now need to complete a representation review to determine the total number of councillors, ward names and boundaries, and whether any councillors should be elected at large. ....
Ross Giblin/Stuff Wellington Mayor Andy Foster voted in favour of the proposal in March, along with 11 out of 14 councillors. (File photo) The changes mean council decisions to establish Māori wards are final, scrapping a previous system that allowed residents to call for a binding poll that could overturn those decisions. A council paper that will be discussed by councillors on Thursday listed several reasons people supported the proposal. They included honouring the government’s commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi, increasing Māori representation on the council, and providing the Māori community with a voice in local decision-making. ....