Agenda of Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti

Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti Agenda

9 May 2023

6 Pūrongo | Reports

6.1 Establishment of Māori Ward

Kaituhi | Author: Steffi Haefeli, Manager Democracy Services

Kaiwhakamana | Authoriser: Janice McDougall, Group Manager People and Partnerships

Te pūtake | Purpose

1 This reports asks the mana whenua members of Te Wakaminenga o Kāpiti to:

1.1 consider their position on the establishment of Māori ward for the next Local Body Elections in 2025, and

1.2 provide input on how to plan apporiate community engagement, especially in relation to engagement with tangata whenua.

He whakarāpopoto | EXecutive summary

2 Not required for this report.

Te tuku haepapa | Delegation

3 Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti has the delegations and expertise to consider this kaupapa.

Taunakitanga | RECOMMENDATIONS

A. That Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti note the content of the report.

B. That the A.R.T confederation agree to discuss this kaupapa and provide Council Officers with input by Friday 26 May 2023 on:

B.1.1 What appropriate engagement with tangata whenua and other communities looks like;

B.1.2 If it is known, what the preliminary view of mana whenua is on whether a Māori ward should be established;

B.1.3 Any other considerations to be taken into account in terms of engagement planning.

Tūāpapa | Background

Current Context

4 The Local Government Electoral Legislation Bill (the Bill) is currently progressing through Parliament and was expected to come into force mid-2023. Initially, if passed, the Bill would have enacted amendments to the Local Electoral Act 2001 making revisions to the process that local authorities are required to follow in deciding their representation arrangements, making the consideration of a Māori ward a fundamental step in the representation review process. Under the new provisions of the Bill:

4.1 Local authorities that have not established a Māori ward in the last triennium, will be required to reconsider whether to create a Māori ward.

4.2 Local authorities will be required to engage with ‘Māori and other communities’ and to have regard to this engagement in deciding whether to establish a Māori ward.

5 On 6 April 2023, after the Bill’s second reading, Parliament made changes to timeframes proposed under the initial Bill and is delaying the Bill to reduce the impact of the new requirements especially for those councils affected by the most recent floods. Therefore, the proposed representation review requirements will not be in force for 2025 elections. The intention is that they will be in force for the 2028 elections. Parliament announced that a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) will be introduced during the next stage of the Bill. The SOP will make some changes to the Bill to delay the provisions requiring Councils to consider Māori representation as part of their representation review until after the 2025 Local Body Elections. Councils will still have the ability to optionally consider Māori representation, but it will no longer be a legal requirement ahead of the next elections. The SOP changes also pushed out the due date for a final decision. The new due dates ahead of the 2028 Local Body Elections have yet to be communicated with local authorities. The provisions are expected to remain the same.

6 The impact of the delay in provisions is that the legislative status quo under the Local Electoral Act 2001 remains. This is that Council may, but is not required to, resolve whether to establish a Māori ward ahead of the elections in 2025. In the last triennium, Council guided by mana whenua resolved not to establish a Māori ward, however, committed to reconsidering the question this triennium. As such, it is appropriate that Council and mana whenua continue to consider this matter.

7 Under the current provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001, a resolution to establish a Māori ward must be made by 23 November of the year that is 2 years before the next triennial general election to take effect for that next election. The timing plan has been adjusted to account for this to ensure a decision can be made within the statutory timeframes, and to allow time for a representation review to take place in 2024 if needed ahead of the 2025 elections.

What is a Māori Ward?

8 The Local Government Act 2002 requires Council to provide for Māori participation in their decision-making, but it does not prescribe how this should happen. The establishment of one or more Māori wards is one avenue to be considered under the Local Electoral Act 2001.

9 A Māori ward is a representation structure which would allow tangata whenua electors enrolled on the Māori electoral role to directly elect a Councillor to Council. The person standing for the Māori ward vacancy does not have to identify as mana whenua or tangata whenua to stand; however, only those on the Māori electoral role can nominate that person and vote for the person to be elected.

10 The Electoral Act 2001 sets out a formula to determine how many Māori wards may be established which is based on population size of the territorial authority area.

11 Previous amendments to the Local Electoral Act 2001 under the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021:

11.1 removed the ability for electors to bring a petition requiring a poll on the introduction of Māori wards (only the Council will be able to undo a decision to establish a Māori ward or constituency);

11.2 removed the ability for local authorities to resolve to hold binding polls on whether to establish Māori wards or constituencies (although non-binding polls may continue to be conducted);

11.3 provided that past polls, or Council resolution to hold binding polls, on whether to establish Māori wards or constituencies cease to have any effect.

Engagement Planning

12 If a decision is made by the A.R.T. confederation and Council that the establishment of a Māori ward should be considered, a community engagement plan will be drafted in line with mana whenua advice on what type of engagement would be appropriate. Council officers have started working on a high-level plan outlining the approximate milestones which has been attached at Appendix 1 – Timeline for consideration of a Māori Ward ahead of 2025 elections.

13 The high-level plan outlines conversations with mana whenua and Council, first through Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti and then Council on what the proposed engagement plan with mana whenua, tangata whenua and other communities should look like in the lead up to a final decision on whether to establish a Māori ward this triennium.

He kōrerorero | Discussion

14 To inform Council officers planning ahead of briefing Council and bringing a report to Council, this report seeks our mana whenua partner’s views on:

14.1 what appropriate engagement with tangata whenua and other communities for this kaupapa would look like;

14.2 If it is known, what the preliminary view of mana whenua is on whether a Māori ward should be established.

15 As set out in the attached visually displayed timeline, the A.R.T. confederation’s views and input on this kaupapa are sought now and will be utilised to draft an initial engagement plan that will then be presented to Council and mana whenua representatives at the end of May. Council will then be required to make a final decision on whether to proceed and agree on the engagement plan by the end of June 2023.

16 Mana whenua input is critical in shaping an appropriate engagement plan for this kaupapa to ensure engagement communication is appropriate to ensure the right voices are being heard.

He take | Issues

17 Māori wards are just one way to provide for Māori representation in governance. Council’s current governance structure allows for the appointment of mana whenua representatives to its committees and subcommittees with full voting rights which currently provides a mechanism for all of Council’s mana whenua partners to be represented around the Council and committee table.

18 Establishing a Māori ward will have an impact on Māori electoral roll electors as they would only be able to vote for one district-wide Māori ward councillor and no general ward councillors (both district-wide and ward). They would still be able to vote for the Mayor and the community board representatives of the community they reside in. This could be perceived as being able to vote for less representation as they were able to previously. In comparison general roll electors would be able to vote for the Mayor, three district-wide councillors, community board representatives and up to three ward councillors depending on the ward they are able to vote for.

19 While Māori electors are able to switch between the Māori electoral roll and the general electoral roll easily due to a recent change in electoral legislation, this can only be done up to three months before the relevant elections. Messaging around this would be incorporating in pre-election communications and engagement to ensure Māori are aware of the impacts of the different rolls.

Ngā kōwhiringa | Options

20 In the last triennium, Council guided by mana whenua resolved not to establish a Māori ward and committed to reconsidering the question this triennium. The options for Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti are:

20.1 to recommend to Council not to consider the establishment of a Māori ward at this point in time (as there is no legislative requirement in force to require Council to consider this kaupapa this triennium and as such this is discretionary)

20.2 to recommend to Council to consider the establishment of a Māori ward at this point in time and advise what appropriate engagement with the community would look like in their view.

Tangata whenua

21 Mana whenua have been informed of this Kaupapa at the last Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti meeting held on 28 March 2023 by way of an update and via email asking all mana whenua partners to consider their position on establishing a Māori ward and what appropriate engagement with the community would entail.

Panonitanga āhuarangi | Climate change

22 There are no climate change considerations as part of this report.

Ahumoni me ngā rawa | Financial and resourcing

23 There are no direct financial and resourcing implications as a result of this report. If the A.R.T confederation and Council supported the establishment of a Māori ward, community engagement would need to be planned and implemented. If a decision was made to establish a Māori ward, a representation review would need to take place in 2024 with an associated budget impact.

Ture me ngā Tūraru | Legal and risk

24 There are no longer any legal considerations attached to this report. As Council considered whether to establish a Māori last triennium, under the Local Electoral Act 2001 Council is not required to consider the establishment of a Māori ward until next triennium ahead of the 2028 Local Body Elections. Consideration of this matter this triennium is optional (noting that Council and mana whenua committed to revisiting this matter this triennium when they resolve not to establish a Māori ward last triennium).

Ngā pānga ki ngā kaupapa here | Policy impact

25 There will be no direct impact on any existing or planned policies as a result of this decision.

TE whakawhiti kōrero me te tūhono | Communications & engagement

Te mahere tūhono | Engagement planning

26 An engagement plan will be drafted by Council Officers and presented to Council for endorsement at a Council meeting at the end of June 2023. Any community engagement will need to take place between mid-July and October 2023.

27 The input provided by mana whenua partners as part of the discussions on this report will be presented to Council to inform the proposed engagement approach.

Whakatairanga | Publicity

28 If a decision is made to consider the establishment of a Māori Ward, publicity will be in line with the agreed communications and engagement plan. The decision on whether or not to establish a Māori ward will also be publicly notified.

Ngā āpitihanga | Attachments

1. Timeline for consideration of a Māori Ward ⇩


RĀRANGI TAKE AGENDA Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti Tuesday, 9 May 2023
I hereby give notice that a Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti meeting will be held on:
Te Rā \| Date:	Tuesday, 9 May 2023
Te Wā \| Time:	9.30am
Te Wāhi \| Location:	Council Chamber Ground Floor, 175 Rimu Road Paraparaumu
Janice McDougall Group Manager People and Partnerships

Mr André Baker	Chair
Mayor Janet Holborow	Member
Ms Kirsten Hapeta	Member
Mr Chris Gerretzen	Member
Ms Denise Hapeta	Member
Ms Janine Huxford	Member
Mr Huriwai Paki	Member
Ms Kim Tahiwi	Member
Cr Martin Halliday	Member