Creation of Maori wards considered

The Clutha District Council will consider whether to create a Maori ward at its meeting today.

A report to the council by the Representation Review Working Party said Maori wards were a special category of electoral ward that gave separate representation to Maori, and worked in the same way as Maori seats in Parliament.

Maori wards were based on Maori electoral population rather than geographic communities. Only electors on the Maori electoral roll could vote in an election for a Maori ward.

The report said if the council created Maori wards, electors on the Maori roll would be unable to vote in an election for a general ward, but electors on both the general and Maori rolls would still be able to vote in the elections for mayor and community boards.

There was no requirement for those standing in a Maori ward to be on the Maori electoral roll or be of Maori descent, nor would having Maori wards stop a candidate of Maori descent standing in a general ward.

Maori ward councillors would, like councillors, be elected to represent a general ward.

Maori wards at local government level had been an option since 2002, and only one council - Environment Bay of Plenty - had established Maori wards.

The Clutha district has a Maori electoral population of 1100 electors and a general electoral population of 16,350 and could have a single Maori ward councillor under its current membership of 14 (plus the mayor).

The representation review stated that if the council retained its present size, a Maori ward would have fewer electors for its councillor than the other wards would have; meaning residents on the Maori electoral roll would be over-represented.

However, Maori wards did not have to comply with the representation requirement for wards.

If the council wanted to establish a Maori ward for the 2013 local body elections it must do so by November 23, giving public notification within seven days, including the information that a poll would be required to override the decision.

The Central Otago District Council last week decided not to establish a Maori ward in its district for the 2013 elections.

Only 7% of the Central Otago district's population is of Maori descent. 

• The Clutha district has a Maori electoral population of 1100 electors and a general electoral population of 16,350.

• The council has Maori appointees on some committees and working parties, including the Wastewater Working Party, Creative Communities Funding Scheme Assessment Committee and the Sparc Rural Travel Fund Assessment Committee.

• The council is required through the Local Government Act and Resource Management Act to involve Maori in decision-making processes.

helena.dereus@odt.co.nz