Rawiri WaititiMāori
Party Co-leader

Māori Party co-leader and Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi, congratulates Tairāwhiti & Taupō district councils for their stance in yesterday supporting the establishment of Māori wards in time for the 2022 local elections.

“It’s promising to hear that more councils and councillors are supporting the establishment of Māori wards around Aotearoa, however, there is still a lot of work to be done” said Waititi.

“The racist local electoral act (LEA) that allows the ruling and decisions from councillors to be undermined in the establishment of Māori wards is an atrocity that Minister Mahuta must move quickly to address” said the Māori Party co-leader.

“A 5% threshold to overturn a democratic decision, will always out-favour minority groups such as te iwi Māori and must be removed from the LEA to ensure we aren’t waiting another 6-years for our right to representation under Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.

“Not only does this law question the ability of the elected councillors to conduct their work, it also puts financial pressure on local councils to facilitate the referendum”. In which Taupō District Council estimated a cost of $85-$90-thousand dollars.

“Councillors have spoken, it’s time for their constituents to honour the mana in their councillors decisions” said Rawiri Waititi.

Tairāwhiti voted unanimously to establish Māori wards, whilst Taupō District Council voted 7-3 in favour.

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