May 20, 2021
Rotorua Maori seats on knife edge
A Rotorua District Councillor says she’ll eat her hat if her fellow councillors don’t vote for Māori wards.
The council is meeting from noon to consider joining more than 20 other councils who will have guaranteed Māori representation after the next election.
Merepeka Raukawa Tait says Māori seats are needed even though the district has a good record of voting Māori onto the council.
"I'm one of four Te Arawa elected at large by our community to sit on the council but that could change next year – at any time it could change. The people could decide 'we've had enough of Māori, they're getting stroppy, there's Merepeka going at it on whānau ora,' it's always just below the surface. So Te Arawa's coming out in force today. I'm sure we will be successful in this, but hell, you never know," she says.
The meeting will be livestreamed on the council site at https://www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/our-council/agendas-and-minutes/livestream/Pages/default.aspx
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