July 25, 2022
New mayor needs Māori advisor
Auckland Council’s Māori portfolio holder believes the next mayor needs to have a senior Māori advisor in his or her office.
Councillor Angela Dalton says looking at the candidates lining up to replace Phil Goff, she’s concerned some seem opposed to the idea of co-governance, which is becoming an increasingly important part of local government.
She says the mayor needs advice on how to achieve the best outcomes for Māori.
“I don’t know if that exists in the current mayoral office. I think the advice is given but not the advice we would expect from people who carried the mana to advise the mayor. That leadership is required from the mayoral office for the whole organisation to change to the model we are looking at which is embedded in te ao Maori,” Ms Dalton says.
She says mayoral candidates also need to spell out how they intend to work with councillors because they are only one vote around the table.