May 28, 2020
Far North reviews Māori representation
Far North District Council is looking at what it needs to do to encourage more Māori participation in decision making.
Māori have struggled to be elected in the past despite making up half the district's population, but this time there are three Māori councillors – former Green MP Dave Clendon, Kelly Stratford from the Whangaroa ward and Kaikohe kura teacher Moko Tepania.
Mr Tepania says he is a Māori who happens to be on council rather than a Māori representative, and the council needs to crate a specific space for Māori, whether that be Māori wards, Māori appointees to committees or some other mechanism.
In what Mayor John Carter said was the first bilingual report tabled with the council, he presented the case for a review.
"I used my report to give council staff encouragement to make sure we have a really robust review in place that gives us viewpoints from around the country, from other councils that have already done this, and from our people ourselves that we can make good decisions," Mr Tepania says.
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