Whakatane district councillor Toni Boynton, who led the campaign to remove the ratepayer veto on Māori wards, says she ‘s heartened by the support for the kaupapa shown at last week’s Local Government New Zealand conference.
More than 50 mayors have signed a letter of support for Maori wards and 15 councils so far have voted to keep their Māori wards -which means they must out put the question on the ballot at next year’s elections.
Ms Boynton says Māori elected members have had to show they can not only perform their duties as councillors but also meet the expectation of their voters that they stay close to te ao Māori.
“It’s a lot of mahi but we have some outstanding people and we’ve seen councils where council members who were not in favour of Maori wards cross the floor because of the value and quality of Maori councillors we have across the table,” she says.
