The 40 or so
local councils who introduced Māori Wards after Nanaia Mahuta removed the
petition right, must either disestablish the Māori wards or hold a binding
referendum at the time of next year’s local body elections (12 October).
A motion to
disestablish Māori wards must be passed by the 6th of September this
year.
If a referendum is held, and a majority of electors vote “No" then their Māori ward(s) would be disestablished at the 2028 local body election.
The Justice Committee
of Parliament is currently hearing submissions to the Bill. Democracy Northland
has submitted that all four councils in Northland should be required to hold a referendum
before the end of this year, if they don’t revoke their earlier decision to
establish Māori wards. A spokesman for Democracy Northland, John Bain, said it’s
about “putting things right”.
“The right
was taken away from the more than 15,000 people who signed our petitions in
2021. That was anti-democratic and made worse because it was done
retrospectively after our petitions had been validated. A binding referendum
should be held before the end of this year and take effect from next year's
local body election”.
More information
Frank Newman: The Letter from Mayors & Chairs Here>>>
