August 30, 2022
Māori ward battler Boynton ready to serve
One of the leaders of the petition seeking Māori wards says it’s a relief to now be on the council – but now the hard work starts.
Toni Boynton was elected unopposed to the new Kapu te Rangi seat on Whakatane District Council.
She puts that down to making her intentions known early, and the community responding by acknowledging the work she has put in over the past five years.
A priority will be trying to make the council more Maori-friendly and ensuring Maori know what they need to do to get the services they require.
“If we can have that information out there all the time in a way that Maori can relate to it, then we are not waiting for something to go wrong before we activate or we can look at the issues we are facing on the ground and our grassroots whanau can utilise the system to be able to make a change but to be able to do that, to participate confidently,” Ms Boynton says
Housing and water reform are also areas where Maori would benefit from a better relationship with local government.