Three Māori ward seats, one rural ward: Commission overturns council decision

Rotorua will have three Māori ward seats at the next local election.

It could also have a rural ward but it could disappear almost as quickly as it has arrived, as Rotorua Lakes Council's pursuit of a law change could supersede it.

On Friday afternoon, the Local Government Commission revealed it had overturned the council's November decision to implement a model with one Māori ward seat, one general ward seat and eight at large seats.

Instead, the Commission has decided the council will consist of one Māori ward with three seats, one general ward with six seats and one rural ward.

Te Tatau o Te Arawa manahautū chief executive Jude Pani was effusive, saying she was "very very happy".

When she received the Commission's determination, she immediately called her team members and said: "Three Māori seats. Three Māori seats. What the people wanted."

She said it gave Te Arawa whānui the confidence to participate in decision-making in areas where they may not have once felt agency.

Te Tatau "totally" supported the council's local bill - currently at select committee - which would enable an equal number of Māori ward and general ward seats - a model currently unlawful under the Local Electoral Act.

Federated Farmers Rotorua-Taupō president Colin Guyton said he was "feeling pretty pumped" at the result.

"It's something we've fought for at least two [representation] reviews.

"When we were with the Commissioners, it was the first time that have felt that they were actually taking note

"We definitely had a good feeling coming out of that hearing."

Federated Farmers policy advisor Shaun Hazelton, who appeared at the commission's representation review hearing last month with Guyton, said it was a "clear demonstration of how democracy works".

"Thankfully the commission decided to do the right thing. We are looking forward to seeing how the [rural] board and the rural ward will work together for better outcomes for rural communities."

Rural Community Board chairwoman Shirley Trumper said she was "on cloud nine ... beyond ecstatic" and "very pleasantly surprised" by the commission's decision.

However, she said the law change the council was currently pursuing would supersede the commission's decision, and a rural ward would not - as the bill currently stands - be part of final representation arrangements for 2022 if it passed before its deadline of 1 June.

She said she would work alongside Federated Farmers to submit on the bill to adjust it to include a rural ward.

"I'm going to take the win today. Today we can celebrate but it's only the first phase."

Trumper said she was "considering [her] options" about running in the rural ward.

The commission found the model, which the council called an "interim model" as it is pursuing a law change to enable its "preferred" model, did not provide fair and effective representation of communities of interest.

"We have serious doubts as to whether a single member could effectively represent either the district-wide general or the district-wide Māori wards."

It said it was concerned by the possibility Te Tatau o Te Arawa presented that a single Māori ward member would "likely dissuade potential candidates".

"We consider it is a reasonable possibility that potential candidates in the general electorate may also be less inclined to stand in the single district-wide general ward as well."

The commission acknowledged the "spirit" of the council's proposal in "seeking to achieve parity in voting opportunity" but said "an even spread of voter opportunity across the various wards of a representation model is not a factor to be considered under the [Local Electoral] Act."

The commission said there was "a clear rural community of interest in the district" and noted that as the council used a first-past-the-post voting system and most of the district's population was urban, it made election difficult for rural-based candidates.

"We are satisfied that a single-member rural ward will result in more effective representation for the rural community."

The Commission rejected the concept, presented by some appellants, such as councillor Reynold Macpherson, that models put forward by the council "could be described as gerrymandering" nor that they violated equal suffrage.

"Councils around the country adopt a range of representation models, many of which result in different numbers of votes for different electors, depending on the ward in which they reside and/or the electoral roll they are enrolled on.

"Every elector still has an equal opportunity to cast their vote in the election, even if other electors for the same council have an opportunity to cast a different number of votes."

The commission also rejected a suggestion from one appellant that the council swell to 18 members plus the mayor.

"We consider this would be too large for the district and would result in over-governance."

However, it supported the retention of 10 councillors plus the mayor, noting the public support for that number of councillors.

The commission commended the council on the "significance" of proposed ward names - Te Ipu Wai Taketake (Māori) and Te Ipu Wai Auraki (general) - and encouraged the council to develop a similarly significant Rotorua rural ward name at the next representation review.

The commission supported the retention, as the council had, of both the Rotorua Rural Community Board and Rotorua Lakes Community Board.

In a separate process, the council is pursuing a law change that would enable three Māori ward seats, three general ward seats and four at large councillors.

Rotorua Lakes Council district leadership and democracy deputy chief executive Oonagh Hopkins said the council was working through the Commission's determination to establish what the model would mean for the community in the 2022 election.

It would provide further information about that as soon as possible, she said.

She confirmed the council's local bill, if passed by June, would replace the Commission's determination.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick has been approached for comment.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air