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Rotorua Lakes Council has asked the Te Arawa working party to continue working with it and the iwi on new partnership arrangements.
The council yesterday voted 8-5 to allow Te Arawa representatives on two key committees with voting rights.
The council will spend up to $250,000 a year supporting the independent Te Arawa Board that will make the appointments.
It put off until August consideration of how tangata whenua could have greater input into the Resource Management Act hearing processes.
Mayor Steve Chadwick says the council had given the community a chance to have its say on the process, with more than 1800 submissions received.
She says the community has come of age, and what is good for Te Arawa is good for Maori and for all the citizens of Rotorua.
She would like to see the new model in place and functioning by early next year.
Te Arawa spokesperson Arapeta Tahana says a lot more work needs to be done to establish the model.
He says sitting at the council table will enable Te Arawa to make a greater contribution to council decision making and the future development of the district.
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