April 11, 2016
Flavell backs Maori seats petition
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell has accepted a petition from New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd calling for law changes around the way councils can create Maori wards.
Mr Judd launched the petition after his effort to create Maori seats on his council was overruled by referendum forced by just 5 percent of electors.
Mr Flavell says it will be a chance for a select committee to examine the issue and come up with recommendations.
He says one reasons Maori don’t engage with local government politics is because they get swamped by the non-Maori majority.
"The history says that chances of Maori getting onto council is not great and therefore the only way to ensure participation is to be able to look towards wards that guarantees us representation on the councils," he says.
Te Ururoa Flavell says councils could also look to the Rotorua solution, where iwi get to select an advisory board which can nominate representatives for appointment on to the main council committees.
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