Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
Rachel Wesley, of Ōtākou Rūnaka, and Matapura Ellison, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, address the Dunedin City Council. The two committees were a “good starting point” for the council and mana whenua to work together, council chief executive Sandy Graham said. She confirmed, after questioning from Cr Lee Vandervis, that a 2006 memorandum of understanding between the council and mana whenua would also be reviewed. The memorandum gave Māori opportunities to contribute to local government decision-making processes. Vandervis said the rūnaka-appointed positions were “anti-democratic race-based representation”. The council was throwing the democratic system “to the dogs” by giving non-elected members voting rights, he said.