Keep or remove? That is the question being put to voters.
Supporters see Maori wards as a step towards fulfilling council’s Treaty obligations, and ensuring Maori voices are included in local decision-making.
Opponents of Maori wards see them as undermining universal representation, divisive, or unnecessary.
Questions and answers
Are local councils Treaty partners?
No. In an article appearing in the May issue of Local Government magazine, the authors say the decision issued by McQueen J [Hart v Marlborough District Council [2025] NZHC 47] “has confirmed the long-standing (but perhaps little-understood) legal position: councils are not directly subject to the Treaty and its principles because local authorities are not part of the Crown, and thus not party to the Treaty. The Courts, therefore, traditionally have not recognised local authorities as subject to a common law obligation under Article 2 of the Treaty.”
Are Maori under-represented?
No. A Local Government New Zealand survey following the 2019 local body elections found 13.5% of elected Councillors were Maori – the same as the 13.7% of Maori in the adult population. They achieved that without the need for Maori seats. Following the Labour Party reforms led by Nanaia Mahuta, that increased to 22.6% after the 2022 local body elections. Maori are now significantly over-represented in local government - as they are in central government.
Does the Maori Party stand candidates in Maori wards?
Yes. While many candidates in the Maori wards do not display any political party affiliation, some do. Experience (in Kaipara for example) suggests a strong connection between activism and the Maori seats on local councils.
What other ways are Maori included in council decisions?
Many ways. These include Mana Whakahono a Rohe Agreements with councils, statutory obligations for Maori engagement, Maori representation on committees and boards with voting rights (like the WDC Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Standing Committee which has eight seats for Maori), advisory and decision making roles as consent commissioners, affected party status on resource consents, special procurement opportunities for Maori businesses to gain council contracts, involvement in decisions relating to roading and other infrastructure projects with oversight and monitoring roles, and in some cases preferential employment opportunities (the NRC for example has a 25% Maori staff target). The WDC even has a “Maori Outcomes Department” which advocates for Maori. To suggest Maori would not have influence on councils without Maori seats is plainly absurd.
Have previous referendums voted for or against Maori wards?
Against. Between 2002 and 2020, petition rights were used to challenge council attempts to establish Maori wards on twenty-four occasions. All but one said NO to Maori wards, the exception being Wairoa in 2018.
Some say Maori should have wards because there are rural wards.
This is a bogus argument. Council wards are divided into geographical communities of interest. There is no separate electoral roll for farmers, or gender, or age, or any other socioeconomic trait. Maori wards are the only wards that are elected from a separate electoral roll - and that’s based on race. All other wards are elected from the general roll.
How many on the Maori roll vote?
Voter turnout in the Maori wards averages around 25%, compared to just under 50% in the general wards. Half of Maori choose to remain on the general roll, so only 1 in 8 Maori vote in Maori ward elections. The question has been asked: Why do we have Maori wards when so few Maori exercise their right to vote in them? In 2022, the lowest polling candidate to win a seat on the WDC was Phoenix Ruka (for Te Pāti Māori) with just 889 votes.