February 21, 2018
Referendums forced on Maori seats
Referendums forced on Maori seats
Palmerston North City Council will hold a referendum on its plan to create Maori wards, after the required 5 percent of eligible voters signed a petition calling for the poll.
The poll will close on May 19.
Kaikoura will also hold a referendum, after a short campaign by the Hobson’s Pledge group came up with the required 300 signatures.
That means all five councils that opted for Maori wards in the six-yearly review have been forced to hold referendums.
That’s likely to up the pressure on central government to either change the law or to come up with some other way to ensure there is adequate Maori representation in local government.
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