April 13, 2016
Maori ward polls racist
New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd is welcoming Maori Party support to get his petition on Maori representation before parliament.
Mr Judd launched the petition after a referendum was forced overturning his council's decision to create Maori wards.
He's asking for a law change to establish Maori wards on every district council in New Zealand.
He says the government requires councils to engage with Maori in their decision-making processes, but it offers no realistic way to do that authentically.
"Why is it Government that when a council resolves to establish a Maori ward, that decision goes to a binding petition and a poll. Other wards that councils resolve to establish don't. That is what has taken me through to the United Nations to challenge because it is not only divisive and unfair, it can be racist," Mr Judd says.
He says it's important to create a permanent national solution, so Maori representation can't be denied on the whim of an individual council.
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