At the centre of the controversy is a
decision by the Far North District Council on 13 April to appoint 10 external
hapū and iwi leaders to its Te Kuaka Committee for Māori Strategic
Relationships. These 10 unelected members will sit alongside six elected
councillors (four of whom were elected in Māori wards). The unelected members
can participate fully in discussions and have full voting rights.
Nine councillors voted in favour of the motion to appoint external, non-elected representatives, with only Cr Smolders voting against it and one abstention.
Smolders has strongly opposed the
arrangement, arguing that granting decision-making influence to unelected
members undermines democratic “one person, one vote” principles. Concerns have
also been raised that allowing iwi or hapū to appoint a person of their choice
may be in breach of the Local Government Act; critics argue that councillors
should make such appointments.
Mayor Moko Tepania downplayed the criticism,
claiming the committee is simply “advisory.” While the committee’s decisions
must be ratified by the full council (which has a majority of members of Māori
descent), it is misleading to describe the committee as advisory when its
members have full voting rights—advisors advise; they do not make decisions.
Given Te Kuaka’s powers and responsibilities,
there is little doubt that the committee could become a political arm within
the council, embedding the Māori interpretation of the Treaty, including its
associated claims of sovereignty, throughout the organisation. It is this shift in control that is causing Cr Smolders and others to raise
concerns.
In a recent blog post, King’s Counsel Gary
Judd expressed it this way: “Clearly, therefore, the mayor of FNDC and the
members of its governing body, apart from Ms Smolders, have engaged in
processes which corrupt the purposes and principles of local government. They
are engineering a transfer of power to iwi and hapū, no doubt in pursuance of
the claim to have sovereignty over the north…”
The debate has quickly moved beyond the Far
North, tapping into a broader national conversation about co-governance and the
granting of full voting rights to unelected committee members.
The issue has reached the highest levels of
government, with the Minister of Local Government, Simon Watts, being called
upon to intervene. He responded by saying the situation does not yet meet the
high legal threshold required for central government intervention, but has
instructed his officials to engage with the council and report back to him.
Watch this space.
The Minister will need to tread carefully.
Co-governance and iwi influence within local councils are live election issues.
National’s stance on these matters is already causing it to lose support to its
coalition partners. How it handles the Far North District Council will be yet
another test for the National Party.
Cr Smolders was elected on an ACT Party
ticket, on a platform “focused on building a council that’s fair, balanced,
and transparent—one that protects property rights, ends race-based policies,
and restores fairness to local decision-making.”
She stands alone as a member of a council
that is, by many accounts, heavily—some say entirely—influenced by Māori
leadership, with critics arguing this is to the detriment of non-Māori. Cr
Smolders has demonstrated that she is tenacious and does not shy away from
publicity. We can expect to hear a lot more from Davina Smolders.
Further information
Gary Judd, Dare to be Daniel