The majority of Gisborne’s district council candidates say they will vote to retain Māori wards in the upcoming referendum.
As well as their general or Māori ward voting papers, voters are being asked whether to keep or disestablish Māori wards.
Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) asked the region’s council hopefuls how they would vote and received 30 responses out of 31 total candidates. Of the 30, two said they would vote to disestablish the wards and two said they were undecided. Four of the 30 declined to confirm their vote.
Māori ward councillor and candidate Rhonda Tibble said only Māori ward councillors could adequately represent Māori ward voters.
“Our world is complex,” she said. “Only we can understand it and articulate it.”
General ward candidate Ian Allan said the wards brought “proxy representation” of rural East Coast communities and a “guaranteed voice for our precious natural environment and culture”.
General ward candidate Jordan Walker said Māori ward councillors brought “kawa and tikanga (protocol/ceremony)” to the table, which was “a good example of how councillors should be carrying themselves”.
Māori ward candidate Kat Taylor said her perspective had strengthened after seeing the first term of Māori ward councillors
“I’ve seen the value of diverse voices in decision-making and the importance of inclusive representation,” she said.
Historical under-representation, a high Māori population (56%), and practical engagement of Te Tiriti o Waitangi were some of the other reasons given by candidates for retaining the wards.
General ward candidate Gary (Gazza) McKenzie said he had not decided as he was still researching the topic, while Darin Brown (general) said he was “sitting on the fence”.
In August last year, as part of the Government directive, Gisborne councillors voted to retain Māori wards, which meant the decision would be put to a referendum.
First-term councillor and general ward candidate Rob Telfer was the only councillor who voted against the move and told LDR his stance remained the same.
“I don’t believe in putting anybody in boxes based on race, and this is doing exactly that,” he said.
General ward candidate Blake Webb said he was initially “leaning in favour” of increasing the Māori ward seats to reflect equal representation of the Māori population, but changed his mind because of low voter turnout.
As of August 31 this year, 22,402 were enrolled under the general ward and 11,817 under the Māori ward.
In the 2022 local election, the overall voter turnout in Gisborne was 43.4%.
“If Māori are still not turning up in high numbers to vote, are they being represented?” Webb said. “If they are not choosing their electors, probably not ... they do not necessarily represent all of what Māori stand for because the pool of voters would still be low.”
Mayoral candidates Jono Samson and Colin Alder are challenging incumbent Mayor Rehette Stoltz for the role. They are also running in the general ward.
Samson said, after conducting research, he believed Māori wards should remain because they were “rooted in fairness, representation and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
Alder said he would vote to retain Māori wards in the “short to medium term” as they have brought many benefits to the table.
“There’s been some real stars amongst them and it’s also bringing voters to the process ... personally, however, I would like to see a day when we all vote together.”
Some current council representatives did not declare how they would vote, including Stoltz.
Stoltz, who led the establishment of wards in the previous term, said she would limit her comments as the nationwide referendum on Māori wards approached.
“I can say, though, that I have always supported diversity around our governance table.”
Similar to Stoltz, general ward councillors Andy Cranston and Debbie Gregory and Māori ward councillor Aubrey Ria did not comment on how they were voting. All four voted to retain the wards in August last year.
Ria said Māori must be fairly represented at the council table to reflect the region’s demographics. She said Maori ward councillors had worked hard this term to make positive impacts at the table and had been vocally supportive of initiatives that created equity – socially, culturally and environmentally.
Cranston said Māori wards had added value to the council table and the region should be grateful that many of them were from the Te Ao Māori worldview.
However, he believed it was unethical to ask how candidates were casting their private votes and “hence be overly influential within the voting period”.
A Local Government New Zealand spokesman said there was no issue with candidates sharing how they would vote, as long as they made it clear their opinion was their own and not the position of the council.
“It’s an important topic for many councillors – and the communities they serve – so we don’t see any ethical issue with this,” he said.
The district is one of 42 councils that will vote in the referendum. It follows a requirement introduced by the coalition Government last year for all councils that established Māori wards after 2020 without a poll to either disestablish the wards or hold a binding referendum effective for the 2028 and 2031 triennial elections.
This reversed a rule change in 2021, where the Labour Government removed the requirement for councils wanting to create Māori wards to need a petition supported by 5% of eligible voters to trigger a binding referendum.
Gisborne voted to establish Māori wards in November 2020, before Labour’s law change.
The council received 293 responses during community consultation and 67.6% of submitters wanted Māori wards established.
As required by the law at the time, the council notified the public of its decision and had a petition where electors could demand a referendum.
The petition needed 1625 signatures to reach the 5% requirement, but it received 722 signatures, meaning no referendum.
However, last year, then Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said because Gisborne resolved to introduce the wards in November 2020 and Labour introduced the legislation in February 2021, there were only three months for communities to have their say, which was not enough time.
Māori ward councillor Raawiri Gilgin was approached for comment.
