Government’s Māori wards decision takes councils back to square one
The Government has clearly missed the memo on what is important to local communities and councils right now. My city is one of growth, but also has one of the largest rates rises in the country.
We’ve got massive infrastructure needs to help house our whānau and get them around the city faster.
Too many live in emergency housing. Too many struggle to put food on the table in this cost-of-living crisis.
Yet the Government announced this week that they will require referendums on Māori wards and constituencies. Rural wards won’t need one, general wards won’t need one – just Māori.
So, instead of talking about the actual issues of infrastructure, housing and pressure on rates the Government has guaranteed themselves a race debate right through into the 2025 local elections.
I’d rather we were talking about solutions to our broken local government funding system which just puts pressure on rates. To hear about how we can work together to grow our cities and house our whānau.
Homeowners around the country face an average 15% rates rise this year.
The drivers of that are clear in an Infometrics report commissioned by Local Government New Zealand that shows the cost of a bridge has gone up 38% in the last three years.
Māori still have worse housing outcomes and worse employment outcomes.
The issues are compounding. Councils have rightly been focused on these systemic problems and will continue to be. The Government hasn’t given any signal they care as much about this as they do about whether a fella like me should have the opportunity to represent Māori voters on council.
The reality for Māori ward councillors is that we are now going to need to fight to keep Māori representation on our councils, as well as fight for action on these intergenerational issues.
Many before us have already fought long and hard to have a place at the table and the government of the day isn’t going to stop that ongoing advocacy.
The Government say they support a “by Māori, for Māori” approach. It’s unclear when that’s going to be delivered.
They also say they want to empower local councils to make decisions.
Thanks to decisions taken by councils, this term local government has its highest representation of Māori elected members ever.
It’s taken a lot of work to get this far. Over the past decade, Māori elected membership has jumped from less than 5% to more than 22%.
I suspect that running polls will mean Māori wards will be gone in many places. That has been the reality of the unfair polling in the past, where people who aren’t represented by a Māori ward have the ability to veto it.
This is not a Tiriti partnership as promised to Māori in 1840 and asked of councils to action within their respective legislative obligations.
At the end of it all, ratepayers will face the same day-to-day challenges. Māori will be underrepresented. We’ll be back to square one again.
Our communities deserve a council and a government whose focus is on fixing our economy and ensuring we have resilient and liveable cities for all our whānau.
This decision sets the stage for a continued race debate for the remainder of this government’s tenure. Is that what voters signed up for?
Race debating is not getting our country back on track, it’s taken us back onto the track that we have been trying to eradicate from our society for the last 184 years.
Maybe there will be something more hopeful in the next 100-day plan.
For now, just let me get on with being a Māori councillor for Hamilton City.
Moko Tauariki is a councillor for Hamilton City Council’s Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward.
At the end of it all, ratepayers will face the same day-today challenges. Māori will be under-represented. We’ll be back to square one again.