February 15, 2022
Goff works on Māori seat plan
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff wants to leave the council with a legacy of Māori seats.
Mr Goff steps down at the end of this term, but he’s been talking with Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta about the law change needed to create the seats without having to increase the size of the existing wards.
He says realistically that means they can’t be in place until the 2025 election.
“The number of seats will depend on the number of people who choose to enrol on the Māori roll and I think it’s important you have that guaranteed representation around the table,” he says.
Mr Goff says even when the seats are created, he wants to see the Independent Māori Statutory Board continue as a way to monitor the council and help it achieve its goals.
He says during his tenure some things have improved for Māori in Auckland but there is a long way to go.
His current budget proposal to increase the accessibility, frequency and reliability of bus services in the south will be particularly helpful for Māori, and through his million trees plan he has pushed to have more shade trees planted in the lowest income areas of the city which have the lowest canopy cover.