May 02, 2022
Two questions to fix Rotorua Māori seat bill
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick sees a path to getting her council’s preferred voting system through parliament.
Rotorua Lakes Council has asked Parliament’s Māori Select Affairs Committee to pause consideration of the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill after the Attorney General said the model of having a Maori and a general ward, each with three seats, could be in breach of the Bill of Rights Act.
Mayor Chadwick says the council wants to honour the spirit of the Fenton Agreement under which Te Arawa iwi leased land for the establishment of the township.
She says what’s been missed in the commentary is there are also four at large seats, which voters can vote for whether they are on the Maori or the general roll.
“So I think that’s where the parity argument comes in and that is sort of what the Attorney General was asking: Is an individual’s rights infringed? That was one question; and is that appropriate and justified? So if we answer those two questions then I think this bill will move again,” Ms Chadwick says.