Wellington City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera. Photo: Supplied
This week marks one year since new councils were sworn in after the 2022 local body elections. Thirty-five of those councils featured Māori ward councillors, many for the first time.
One year on, what do those councillors make of the job and what advice do they have for councils who have yet to adopt Māori wards?
Nīkau Wi Neera represented the Te Whanganui a Tara Māori Ward at Wellington City council. He said having a Māori ward meant all Māori in the city had someone to represent them.
"In Te Whanganui a Tara, in Wellington only about 20 percent or so [of Māori] are actually mana whenua to this area, the rest have come from all over the motu and they don't whakapapa to here.
"So I think for those people it's nice to have a Māori ward because they've got someone who's advocating for them, even if it's not their rohe."
Wi Neera said the ward had also made it easier to put forward kaupapa Māori at council, like increasing investment in marae or creating a hub for Māori in the central city.
He said for what they are, Māori wards were a good idea to make progress for Māori - and he had some advice for councils who had not yet implemented Māori wards.
"My advice would truly just be talk to your mana whenua, ask them what they want, then do it. It really is as simple as that."
In rural Manawatū, Bridget Bell represented the Ngā Tapuae o Matangi Māori Ward on the Manawatū District Council. She said when it came to Māori wards, the waka was already moving.
"The interesting thing that I think councils that are a little bit unsure of what a Māori ward can bring is that for us as Māori we have a distinct contribution at the table, we are the experts of our own whenua, and our own awa, and our own marae, and our own people.
"It's in their best interests for the entire community that we are there."
Bridget Bell Bridget Bell represents the Ngā Tapuae o Matangi Māori Ward. Photo: Supplied / Bridget Bell
Bell said that on a local level it was very important to have Māori voices at the table, but there was more than one way for Māori to be counted.
"There are several ways that we can be powerful in ensuring that we hold authority to account, and Māori wards is one way. I think Māori as a collective us participating in the system [is important], so that includes voting, that includes going on the Māori electoral roll."
Bell said of the 6000 Māori in her district, fewer than 1000 were registered to vote on the Māori roll. It was important that Māori understood what levers they could pull to affect change, both from positions of authority or from the ground up, she said.
In recent weeks four more local bodies have voted to adopt Māori wards at the next elections, including the Greater Wellington Regional council and Whanganui District council.
One notable exception was Auckland, where councillors have rejected Māori seats.
Speaking to RNZ's Mata, disappointed Auckland councilor Alf Filipaina said having representatives who were Māori was not the same as having Māori seats backed by their electoral mandates.
"We would have had a voice around the table, which we don't have a mandated voice... He or she, that Māori councilor would have been elected by those on the Māori roll so they would have the mandate," he said.
It is now highly unlikely the super city would have seats before 2028 as councils only had until the end of November to approve Māori wards for the next election.
