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The number of guaranteed positions for Indigenous council members on NZ councils will be cut by more than half, after a divisive law change that required local governments to put the future of hard-earned Indigenous wards to a public vote.

Historical Context on Māori Wards

Māori wards, which may have multiple councillors based on demographic data, were created in 2001 to give Māori electors the option to vote for a assured Indigenous council member in local and regional authorities. Originally, local governments could only create a Māori ward by initially putting it to a community referendum in their region. Communities often spent years building community backing and pushing their local governments to create Māori wards.

Legislative Shifts and Administrative Decisions

To address this concern, the former administration allowed local councils to establish a Indigenous seat without first requiring them to subject it to a public vote.

However, this year, the right-wing coalition government reversed the change, stating communities ought to determine whether to introduce Indigenous representation.

Referendum Results

The coalition’s law change required local authorities that had created a ward under Labour’s rules to conduct decisive public votes concurrently with the local body elections, which ended on October 11. Of 42 councils taking part in the public vote, 17 voted to keep their seats, and 25 to abolish theirs – revealing numerous areas against reserved Indigenous seats.

These outcomes represented “a vital step in reinstating local democratic control.”

Opposition parties however have condemned the government’s law change as “racist” and “against Indigenous interests”. Since taking office, the coalition government has implemented sweeping rollbacks to policies designed to improve Indigenous welfare and political inclusion. Officials has said it wants to end “race-based” policies, and says it is committed to enhancing results for Māori and every citizen.

Urban-Rural Divide

Outcomes of the public votes were divided down city-country divisions – most urban centers mandated to hold referendums backed Indigenous seats, while rural regions leaned strongly towards disestablishing them.

“It’s a real shame for the Māori wards that had recently been established – they’re just beginning to hit their stride.”

Voter Turnout and Concerns

This year’s local government elections recorded the smallest electoral participation in 36 years, with under one-third of eligible voters participating, leading to demands for reform.

This approach had been “a mockery”.

Differential Standards

Councils are able to create other types of electoral districts – such as countryside seats – without initially mandating a community ballot. The disparate requirements applied to Indigenous representation indicated the administration was singling out Māori representation.

“Well, they failed. Many communities have given the government a middle finger response.”

This statement referred to the 17 areas that chose to keep their seats.