Aperahama Edwards, spokesman for Northland iwi chairs collective Te Kahu o Taonui, rejected the idea that Māori representation in local government was somehow “anti-democratic”.
“It is the opposite. Our participation reflects decades of Treaty partnership-building, legal recognition of our mana whenua status, and the practical reality that decisions about land, water and environment in Northland can’t be made well without the knowledge we bring,” Edwards said.
“This is not about democracy – this is about silencing Māori voices in the rooms where decisions about our rohe [tribal areas] are made.”
Edwards said the Te Kuaka Māori Strategic Relationships Committee was the result of a deliberate, considered decision by elected councillors to better reflect the communities they served.
“Northland has one of the highest proportions of Māori of any region in Aotearoa. To suggest that including our representatives in governance discussions undermines democracy is to say Māori participation itself is the problem,” he said.
Edwards, who is a co-chair of the committee, said it was not a decision-making forum. It could only provide recommendations for the full council to vote on.
He called on Watts to meet Te Kahu o Taonui before the law change went ahead.
“We are not a political football. We are the tangata whenua of Te Tai Tokerau, and we’ll continue to exercise our responsibilities to our rohe, regardless of what Parliament legislates,” he said.
‘Taking with one hand and giving with the other’
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said it was puzzling the Government was removing voting rights from unelected committee members at the same time as it was handing a third of all council business over to unelected water companies.
Drysdale said it was not clear what problem the law change was trying to solve.
The change could also have the unintended consequence of weakening governance, he said.
Tauranga’s Audit and Risk Committee, for example, had an independent appointed chair – Dame Kerry Prendergast – and one other expert appointed member, which the Auditor-General had described as best practice.
“Taking a vote away from the chair, I think, actually weakens governance, which is disappointing.”
The change could have the unintended consequence of weakening governance, says Mahé Drysdale. Photo / RNZ, Calvin Samuel
While appointed members would still be able to offer advice, Drysdale was concerned they could become “lame ducks”, or it could become more difficult to attract people with the best skills.
The proposed law change also contradicted the Government’s plans for water reform, known as Local Water Done Well.
“You’ve got 30% of council business going to be run by a CCO [council-owned company], which is made up of unelected members. So I’m a little bit confused as to what they’re trying to solve.”
Drysdale said the legislation specifically barred elected members from the Local Water Done Well board.
“So they’re taking with one hand and giving with the other, and I’m a little bit confused.”
In making his announcement on Tuesday, Watts singled out Tauranga City Council, with Hastings and Far North District Councils, for being “undemocratic”.
Drysdale disagreed, saying one out of every 11 committee members in Tauranga was appointed.
“It’s just curious as to how they come up with that being undemocratic.”
Local Government Minister Simon Watts. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone
While some council committees did have decision-making powers, the full council could reconsider those decisions and had the power to “hire and fire” committee members.
The council’s Tangata Whenua Combined Forum had an advisory role only, he said.
Meanwhile, Wellington Mayor – and former Labour leader – Andrew Little said the proposed law change was unnecessary and a provocation.
He said the current system was working well for Wellington.
“It works fine. It’s not just a vote, it’s the voice they bring with it – but it means the voice counts, because it’s backed up by a vote. It just seems to me another unnecessary provocation by this government towards Māori,” Little said.
“If the law goes through, I will certainly be prevailing on our iwi partners to stay and keep doing what they’re doing, we need their voice, it’s very important to the decisions we take.”
However, Ngāti Kuri leader and prominent businessman Harry Burkhardt said it was not worth “dying in a ditch” over committee voting rights.
Burkhardt, with Mariameno Kapa-Kingi – then the head of Te Aupōuri iwi but now the MP for Te Tai Tokerau – advised Mayor Moko Tepania when the Far North District Council first set up its Te Kuaka Māori Strategic Relationships Committee.
Burkhardt said he was still convinced councils needed to engage with the community about things that were important to the community.
And, regardless of voting rights, councils still had to have good relationships.
“If people want to die in the ditch about voting rights, I think there’s more important stuff that could help. In my view, it’s always around the quality of relationships you have and the ability to have a view and hold a conversation. I think that’s more important than an ideology of democracy.”
Burkhardt said all too often the Māori experience of democracy had been “the majority speaking for the minority”.
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania. Photo / RNZ, Peter De Graaf
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania – who was at the centre of the social media firestorm around unelected committee members two months ago – said he acknowledged the Government’s mandate to change the law.
“Right now, we’re focused on getting on with the mahi and we’ll adapt to this change as we need to,” he said.
If the law change was passed, councils would have six months to review their committee delegations and appointments.
Tepania said the council had seven committees, five of which had 14 appointed members between them. Two appointed members had advisory powers only.
Far North District councillor Davina Smolders, whose campaign ultimately led to the law change proposal, said she was delighted the Government had acted to “restore democratic accountability”.
“Governments can sometimes move slowly but in this case it moved remarkably quickly. I raised concerns about this at the beginning of the year. And by June we’re already seeing meaningful reform,” she said.
Northland MP Grant McCallum said only elected members should make decisions on ratepayers’ behalf.
“A significant number of constituents in Northland raised concerns with me about non-elected members being appointed to council committees with voting rights … While it’s useful for councils to make appointments that contribute to the skills, attributes, and elected members of council, these unelected appointees do not have democratic accountability and therefore should not be given the same voting rights as elected councillors.”