Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne o Wairarapa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki Nui-a-Rua Settlement Trust and Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā trust are extremely disappointed with the South Wairarapa District Council’s continued misinformation, delay tactics and the inability to engage with tangata whenua for the establishment of a Māori ward.

The Wairarapa Iwi entities are aware that all voting needs to be completed by Friday 21st May 2021 for the establishment of Māori wards to determine whether a Māori ward will be required for the Local Government Body elections in 2022.

“It was clear to me that South Wairarapa District Council are under prepared, have not done the proper research and have seemed to have deliberately delayed any decision making on the establishment of Māori wards,” says Tiraumaera Te Tau, Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa.

The iwi feels the deliberate delay tactics of these decisions will have consequences for tangata whenua marae, hapū and iwi within this region, and perpetuates longstanding inequities, injustices and historical trauma previously suffered by their people in the past and that still face them today.

As Te Tiriti partners of South Wairarapa District Council, the lack of engagement with tangata whenua whānau and hapū contravenes the provisions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, also undermining the Council’s Te Tiriti responsibilities and obligations.

All four iwi entities are calling for an immediate response from South Wairarapa District Council Mayor about how their Council will address these concerns and make the decision prior Friday 21st of May 2021.

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