Vote ban won’t stop South Taranaki iwi committee say tribal reps

Iwi representatives say they won’t let South Taranaki council’s liaison committee be disrupted by the Government’s axing of their voting rights.

Local government minister Simon Watts two weeks ago announced he would remove voting rights from iwi representatives and other specialist appointees on council committees.

Watts pointed to a Far North Māori relationships committee with six councillors, eight hapū representatives, and two from the Northland iwi chairs collective Te Kahu o Taonui.

"That's not democratic, so we're fixing it."

Te Kahu o Taonui spokesman Aperahama Edwards said banning voting rights was about “silencing Māori voices”.

South Taranaki District Council’s Te Kāhui Matauraura committee has the mayor and four councillors sitting with a pair of representatives from each of the district’s four iwi.

Ngāpari Nui says voting is not crucial given solid relationships between Ngāti Ruanui and the council.

At Te Kāhui Matauraura’s Wednesday meeting – the first since the Government announcement – Taranaki iwi representative Peter Moeahu said he wasn’t bothered by the vote ban.

After the meeting, Moeahu explained that iwi liaison committees in South Taranaki and New Plymouth had evolved away from formal voting towards consensus and influence.

“That bodes well for the whole community,” he said.

“We can discuss and agree on issues, go forward to council to have those issues approved – and we just move on.”

Moeahu said a government worried about unelected influence should tackle lobbyists in Wellington.

“Whether it's tobacco, whether it's alcohol, whether it's climate... they're all in there having influence, and they're not elected.”

Ngāti Ruanui representative Ngāpari Nui agreed voting was not crucial, as the iwi had built a good relationship with the Mayor and council.

“I can't see it as too much of an issue at this moment because we get on, it's about our relationship,” Nui said.

“It's about us working together, what're the best options?”

Councillor Cheryl Luke-Maraki says the risk is downgrading financial and technical experts on other committees.

The councillor for Te Tai Tonga, Cheryl Luke-Maraki, retains her voting rights until South Taranaki’s Māori wards are ditched at the next election, voted down by referendum in 2025.

Luke-Maraki said what looked like a knee-jerk Government response wouldn’t stop mana whenua and council collaborating.

But she said banning voting by appointees risked making it harder to attract experts to the Risk and Assurance Committee and hearings panels.

“If they actually don't have any teeth, they may not want to take the positions – and that's a risk to our committees and it's a risk to the knowledge base.”

The council and iwi have good things going on says Mayor Phil Nixon – and the voting ban won't stop them.

Mayor Phil Nixon was disappointed by the voting ban but said the council had a strategic agreement with iwi and strong, ongoing informal relationships.

“We certainly won't be changing anything in our relationship between our four iwi in South Taranaki and the council.

“We've got a lot of good things going on between us and we don't want to change.”

nā Craig Ashworth craig@tekorimako.co.nz

LDR is local body journalism hosted by Te Korimako o Taranaki and funded by Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa and Irirangi te Motu