November 03, 2015
Options running out for New Plymouth Maori
New Plymouth residents have been told they’re running out of options for Maori representation on their district council.
The council is holding its six-yearly representative review, and some submitters have suggested an elected Maori community board be established.
But Mayor Andrew Judd says that’s not possible under the Local Government Act.
He says the council scrapped its Komiti Maori because Maori did not consider it a serious partnership.
His fellow councilors rejected the idea of having Maori representatives with voting rights on standing committees, and a referendum of electors voted down Mr Judd’s plan for Maori wards.
He says that means the council was not meeting its legal obligations to engage with Maori.
The hearings which start tomorrow will hear submissions on how many council seats there should be for the 2016 election, if the district will use a wards or an at-large system, and if community boards will continue.
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