Tāngata tiriti turn out for Māori wards

Adam Gifford Toni Boynton | Tāngata tiriti turn out for Māori wards

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One of the leaders in the fight for Māori wards says their future now is in the hands of tāngata tiriti.

Toni Boynton delivered a petition to parliament in 2020 to remove a provision in the Local Government Electoral Act allowing just 5 percent of voters to force a binding referendum if their council opted for Māori seats.

That has been reinstated by the coalition Government – along with a requirement that all councils with wards put them to the vote at next year’s election.

In a show of defiance to the Government, 43 of the 45 councils said they’ll do just that – and Ms Boynton, who’s now a Whakatāne District Councillor, says she’s optimistic.

“We saw community members who had come in, many Pākeha, speak in support of Māori wards. I think that has been where the shift has been, it’s been overwhelmingly our tāngata tiriti, our Pākehā whānau who have stood up for Māori wards,” Ms Boynton says.

Kaipara and Upper Hutt are the only two councils to outright reject Māori wards.

All councils that have Māori wards must have a binding referendum alongside next year’s local body elections.

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