Gisborne district councillor Manu Caddie says more Maori could run for local body elections, as iwi leaders settle their Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Local campaigns are running in pockets of the country, such as Northland and Rotorua, to get more Maori to stand in the local elections which close on 12 October.
Manu Caddie says there has been an increase in the diversity of candidates this year, adding that about 12 out of 27 people standing across the district are of Maori descent.
He is putting part of that down to the recent Treaty settlement of local iwi, Ngati Porou and Ngai Tamanuhiri.
Mr Caddie says settling the Treaty claims took a lot of energy and focus for iwi leaders and now they have the energy and resources to think about standing for council.
He says increasing the diversity on councils will benefit communities.
