A protest in Kaipara as Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua served the Kaipara District Council with an injunction to stop a planned vote on Maori wards. Photo:
Kaipara District Council has voted to disestablish its Māori ward, becoming the first council to do so under new rules, in a tense council meeting.
Councillors voted 4 to 3 in favour of disestablishing the Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward with one abstention.
An extraordinary council meeting deciding the fate of the council's Māori ward was attended by councillors, members of the public and at least 150 demonstrators at the council's Mangawhai office.
Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora twice opened the council chamber doors allowing waiata and karanga from outside to flow inside, interrupting the meeting.
A protest in Kaipara as Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua served the Kaipara District Council with an injunction to stop a planned vote on Maori wards. Photo: RNZ
Mayor Craig Jepson threatened to oust Paniora if her behaviour continued, under council's standing orders, and paused the meeting briefly.
Paniora moved to postpone the vote until iwi and hapu had been consulted as per legal obligation under section 81 of the Local Government Act.
Councillor Eryn Wilson-Collins supported the motion and told fellow councillors voting to scrap Māori wards without their input would be detrimental to ongoing relationships with iwi.
"It is not just Māori that are asking us to have the Māori wards. It is not just Māori who are asking us to live in a modern bicultural society," she told the meeting.
Deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen compared the scenes that played out as an example of "tribal warfare" and "civil unrest".
Speaking to demonstrators earlier on Wednesday, a representative from Ngāti Whātua said the iwi had filed an injunction with the High Court in an attempt to stop the vote.
Councils have until 6 September to decide whether to drop the wards. If they don't reach a decision, a binding referendum must be held alongside the election.
Jepson has been called on to resign by iwi groups over his stance to remove the Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward.
