11 May 2012

Call for Maori to decide on Maori wards

9:31 am on 11 May 2012

A member of a Rotorua District Council advisory body says in his view local tangata whenua should make the decision on whether Maori wards should be established.

The council has three Maori representatives; deputy mayor Trevor Maxwell, Maureen Waaka and Merepeka Raukawa-Tait.

Councillors last year voted against having dedicated Maori seats, in line with a recommendation by advisory board Te Arawa Standing Committee.

However committee member Potaua Biasiny-Tule says tangata whenua need better Maori representation.

Mr Biasiny-Tule says he'd personally like to have four dedicated seats, and suggests one way of doing that would be to hold a ballot on Maori wards.

He says only Maori voters should be able to vote on whether that option should be in place.

Mr Biasiny-Tule believes Pakeha will not give Maori seats because they'll feel they will be losing their representative rights.