🔗 Share this article

The number of guaranteed seats for Indigenous council members on New Zealand councils is set to be cut by over 50%, after a divisive law change that required municipal councils to submit the fate of hard-earned Indigenous wards to a popular referendum.

Background Information on Māori Wards

Māori wards, which can include one or more elected officials depending on local population numbers, were created in 2001 to provide Māori electors the option to vote for a assured Indigenous council member in municipal and provincial governments. Originally, local governments were only able to create a Indigenous seat by initially putting it to a community referendum in their region. Communities often spent years building community backing and pushing their councils to create Māori wards.

Legislative Shifts and Government Actions

To address this concern, the former administration allowed local councils to establish a Indigenous seat without first requiring them to put it to a popular ballot.

But in 2024, the right-wing coalition government reversed the change, saying local residents should decide whether to introduce Indigenous representation.

Voting Outcomes

The new legislation required councils that had established a ward under Labour’s rules to conduct decisive public votes concurrently with the municipal polls, which ended on 11 October. Of 42 councils participating in the referendum, 17 voted to keep their seats, and twenty-five to abolish theirs – revealing numerous areas against reserved Indigenous seats.

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

Opposition parties however have criticised the new policy as “discriminatory” and “anti-Māori”. Since taking office, the current administration has implemented extensive reversals to policies intended to improve Māori health, wellbeing and representation. The government has said it aims to end “ethnic-specific” approaches, and asserts it is committed to enhancing results for Indigenous people and all New Zealanders.

Urban-Rural Divide

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

“It's unfortunate for the Māori wards that had recently been established – they’re just beginning to find their footing.”

Electoral Participation and Criticism

This year’s municipal polls registered the smallest electoral participation in 36 years, with less than a third of eligible voters casting a vote, leading to demands for reform.

This approach had been “a mockery”.

Differential Standards

Councils are able to create other types of electoral districts – including rural wards – without first requiring a community ballot. The different conditions placed on Indigenous representation indicated the administration was singling out Indigenous inclusion.

“Ultimately, they were unsuccessful. Many communities have given the government a middle finger response.”

This remark referred to the 17 regions that chose to keep their wards.