One of the leading candidates for one of Far North District Council’s four new Māori ward seats says she’s not expecting overnight change.
Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, the wife of former MP Hone Harawira, has a high profile in the north in her own right as an educator and staunch Treaty rights advocate.
She says Maori wards are a new concept in local government level are a new concept, and successful candidates will need time to understand their roles and discover what influence they can have around the still-pakeha-dominated council table.
“Don’t promise big things because we’ve been inside of pakeha house for a long time and in 182 years the treaty hasn’t even been recognised so let’s just try to do things differently, work together really well as a Maori roopu,” Ms Halkyard-Harawira says.
