A group representing local councils in Aotearoa New Zealand is calling for the Local Democracy Reporting programme to be expanded after the media company NZME announced a proposal to close 14 community newspapers.

The LDR programme funds local authority coverage at various publications and is managed and funded by RNZ with support from NZ On Air.

It covers most regions, apart from Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, the Kāpiti Coast, Otago, and parts of Manawatū-Whanganui and Canterbury.

Local Government NZ, a body representing most councils, said the programme should be expanded to all communities.

“Community newspapers have long played a key role in councils sharing what’s happening locally — from roading, parks and emergency management to big decisions about the future of their region,” LGNZ president Sam Broughton said in a statement.

Broughton was concerned NZME’s plan to shut 14 papers would have a devastating impact on a combined 850,000 readers.

“We are concerned that a move like this could have a negative impact on turnout in next year’s local elections.”

Isolating rural communities
Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Alex Walker said the lack of news coverage would isolate rural communities.

“The axeing of the 14 newspapers would mean that communities like Hawke’s Bay are left with a single subscription-only news outlet, that’s focused more on urban areas,” she said.

“These newspapers are also an effective two-way communication tool between council and the people they serve; particularly our older or more remote population who do not always have access to electronic media.”

The group suggested that the LDR programme’s scope be expanded to cover the rest of the country.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

South Taranaki’s iwi and council have drawn up a new partnership agreement just as the Aotearoa New Zealand’s new conservative coalition government plans to take an axe to co-governance.

He Pou Tikanga Partnership Strategy sets out why and how South Taranaki District Council will increase collaboration with the area’s four iwi.

The agreement was created by the council and the iwi post-settlement governance entities – Te Kaahui o Rauru, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, Te Korowai o Ngāruahine and Te Kāhui o Taranaki.

Cooperation includes not just leaders but staff from both sides working together.

The agreement says South Taranaki District Council will pay to make this happen.

“As partners to council, iwi must have a participatory role in development of agreed relevant council policy, service delivery, special projects and decision making.

“More resourcing from the council and other avenues is needed for iwi to engage and this resourcing needs to be explicit.”

Cooperation crucial
Mayor Phil Nixon said it was crucial that staff from both sides worked alongside each other.

“If we don’t do it from the ground up — which takes it right from the officers to begin with — if we’re not all on the same page working together it doesn’t work.”

The council’s iwi committee Te Kāhui Matauraura last week endorsed He Pou Tikanga for inclusion in the 2024-34 long term plan.

But just two days later the new government set out its plan to wind back co-governance with Māori, including in local government rules.

The coalition deal said the previous government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act would be repealed by Christmas.

National Environment Standards on freshwater would be also replaced, along with the National Policy Statement on freshwater “to rebalance Te Mana o te Wai to better reflect the interests of all water users”.

Those new rules introduced under Labour had required more say for iwi and hapū in council decision-making.

Replacement rules
The new Minister for Regulation, ACT’s David Seymour, said the replacement rules would instead have “a founding principle of property rights which has been absent from those laws for far too long”.

Mayor Nixon hoped the government would stick with National’s promise to support localism.

“We work well with our iwi; I think we have a really good relationship, and so it’s a matter of building on that and continuing that because I don’t want to see any of this go backwards in any way.”

The coalition agreement also demands that any Māori council wards established without a referendum — which includes two in South Taranaki — face a referendum at the next local body elections.

Nixon hopes the community will get behind the wards and the new partnership agreement.

“When we were first talking about Māori ward . . .  there was a certain amount of apprehension in the community here to what it was.

“But I think now, with the way we’re progressing with it, I think the community is seeing actually this is working.”

He Pou Tikanga has taken more than three years to negotiate, and iwi representatives on Te Kāhui Matauraura were enthusiastic about its potential.

Ngāruahine’s John Hooker said iwi and hapū strategic plans could now be counted in the council’s plans.

Hooker said it made sense for iwi and council planners to cooperate, and for iwi project managers “to work collaboratively with sister projects occurring at district council level”.

He said the growing trust between council and iwi was influential in Ngāruahine refocusing its asset investment back in South Taranaki.

“We’re starting to focus a lot of that investment into our district, instead of it occurring at Wellington or nationally.”

Taranaki iwi representative Peter Moeahu said He Pou Tikanga was a huge change to the antagonistic response he received from South Taranaki’s council 35 years ago.

“What we have now is financial clout and everyone wants to be our friend.

“It cements the relationship between iwi and council so that we can build a better future for the whole community.”

He Pou Tikanga also sets out that:

• Iwi and hapū will be involved as early as possible in decision making
• The council will build its cultural capacity
• Iwi involvement can cut consultation times and improve outcomes
• Council and iwi will work closely on climate and environmental issues
• Iwi and council will develop goals and actions in the annual planning cycle
• The strategy doesn’t negate relationships between individual iwi and the council

Local Democracy Reporting is funded through NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

After a 12-year fight, mana whenua will get a seat at the table after the Western Bay of Plenty District Council has voted to establish Māori wards at the next election.

Applause then waiata rang out from the packed public gallery as the councillors voted nine to three in favour of Māori wards yesterday.

Speaking after the meeting, mayor James Denyer said it was a “momentous day, particularly for mana whenua”.

“This is about making the right decision, not making the popular decision.”

Mana whenua have long advocated for Māori wards in the district. In 2011 the council decided not to establish one and in 2017 the council opted to have a Māori ward, but it was subject to a poll requested by the public.

It was voted down in the poll with 78 percent of the respondents opposed. Just over 40 percent of eligible voters took part.

During the meeting’s public forum, Mabel Wharekawa-Burt said the poll was not an actual reflection of what the community was feeling.

‘Open your minds’
“My job today is to influence you to open your minds a little bit further, not to change your opinions,” she said.

Wharekawa-Burt, of Katikati, worked with the electoral commission for 14 years and urged the councillors to “take a chance”.

“We’re [Māori] not a threat. I’m bound and obligated to make good decisions for my grandchildren.

“Take a chance on me by unequivocally supporting the establishment of Māori wards and I’ll make sure you’re safe,” Wharekawa-Burt (Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui) said.

Katikati — Waihī Beach Residents and Ratepayers Association chairperson Keith Hay opposed their establishment and said the decision affected all of the community and referred to the previous poll.

“To knowingly override these views without community consultation is arrogant.

“If you vote to introduce Māori wards today, voters’ views are being overwritten,” said Hay, in his opinion.

The council opted not to consult with the community because under the Local Electoral Act 2001 there were no obligations to consult with any person before passing a resolution to establish Māori wards.

‘Spectrum of community views’
WBOPDC strategic kaupapa Māori manager Chris Nepia’s report to council said: “Council already has a good understanding of the spectrum of community views on the establishment of Māori wards through previous processes.”

Tapuika Iwi Authority chief executive Andy Gowland-Douglas said it was “really important mana whenua were represented at the decision making table” and added “significant value”.

Former mayor Gary Webber, who was on the council for 12 years, said it was the third time he had been involved in the decision.

“It is time to do what is tika, what is right. Please don’t say no and be an outlier in the statistics.”

Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour moved the motion. He said it was a legislative requirement and important the council met this.

“Māori have continued to be entirely consistent in their request for Māori wards.

“They wanted to vote for someone that they could identify with and help them represent their interests.”

Not fairly represented
First term councillor Andy Wichers said he had heard from the community that Māori don’t feel they are fairly and effectively represented as individuals and as communities.

“The simple question was this, could Māori wards achieve a fairer and more effective representation? And the answer was yes, and I could not find an argument against it.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce said: “Partnership is deeply and rightly entrenched into our constitutional arrangements.

“Having guaranteed Māori members will help us be a better council.

“This is not a zero sum game where one treaty partner wins at the expense of the other. We can work together to make better decisions, bringing different perspectives.”

He did, however, want there to be consultation with the community.

“We should consult widely on this and seek to bring our community along with us in this decision.”

‘Incredibly rushed’
Tracey Coxhead said as a first time councillor she felt “incredibly rushed in this process” and “not informed enough” to make the right decision.

She too wanted community consultation.

Also opposed was councillor Allan Sole — he said he was part Māori but chose not to be on the Māori electoral roll.

“I believe that we have got to be people that look and work towards having a more harmonious whole community, not looking after factions.

He said, in his view, if people felt they were unequal he would “almost consider [it] patronising that somebody makes a special place for you”.

“I believe that to protect those special places is totally wrong and not beneficial to the decision making and future of our district and our country.”

Sole also questioned the Treaty of Waitangi: “We also ought to let the people look at it [the Treaty] and say perhaps . . .  this actual document, a great piece of our history, may not be fit for purpose today.”

‘Same rights and privileges’
Kaimai ward councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said: “I believe strongly that, as the Treaty of Waitangi made clear that 180 years ago, all New Zealanders had the same rights and privileges.

“Creating racial division between us by creating racially separate based wards is fundamentally wrong.”

Councillor James Dally was visibly emotional as he spoke and referenced the 2021 decision by the local government minister to remove the ability for the public to request a poll on the creation of Māori wards.

He said the number of councils with Māori wards went from three to 34 and there were 66 councillors elected to represent Māori communities at last year’s local government elections.

“Hopefully in time the separatist or racist narrative will become a thing of the past.”

Denyer said: “It’s clear to me that Māori representation at council is deficient and it is no longer a radical or unknown option.”

He said Māori wards “work quite well” for the 35 councils that have them.

‘About honouring commitments’
Scrimgeour concluded: “I want to emphasise this is not about establishing a race-based constituency. It’s about honouring commitments that we made under the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Speaking after the meeting, Wharekawa-Burt said: “It felt glorious.

“I’m ecstatic for my grandchildren. I just wanted the right to make my own choice.”

Te Kāhui Mana o Tauranga Moana forum chairperson Reon Tuanau said it had been a long time coming and he had been involved since 2011.

Asked if he had any words for those that were fearful of Māori wards, Tuanau referred to the whakataukī.

“Nā to rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te tāngata. With your basket and my basket put into the same basket people will thrive.”

Western Bay of Plenty is the 36th council to establish Māori wards. Only those on the Māori electoral roll can vote in that ward.

How the Māori ward will be made up will be considered as part of the district representation review next year.

The review looks at what form the wards and community boards should take and how many elected members there should be, to best represent the district’s population. It will be subject to public consultation.

How they voted:
For: James Denyer, John Scrimgeour, Grant Dally, Anne Henry, Rodney Joyce, Murray Grainger, Andy Wichers, Richard Crawford, Don Thwaites.

Against: Margaret Murray-Benge, Allan Sole, Tracey Coxhead.

Alisha Evans is SunLive local democracy reporter. Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Political Roundup: Voters have sent a very strong signal, but will Central Government listen?

The results of the local government elections will be very difficult to process for the political left. Overall, it was a disaster for progressives, and a boon for conservatives. The left has to deal with a sea change of gigantic proportions, in which favoured liberal candidates – such as Efeso Collins running for the Auckland mayoralty – have been trounced. The other Jacinda Ardern-endorsed mayoral candidate – MP Paul Eagle in Wellington, was humiliated with his fourth place.

The extent of the wipe-out for Labour, Greens, and leftwing candidates was like a mirror image of the wipe-out of the National Party just two years ago at the 2020 general election. Throughout the country, progressives have done very poorly, with very few exceptions.

The capital was the only place where Labour and the Greens could celebrate, with Tory Whanau being elected mayor. But in her case, she says she won by positioning herself as the “change candidate” that conservatives could vote for.

Change is in the air

It was the “change candidates” who prospered throughout the country, with a rising mood of anger and disenchantment with the status quo. And so outgoing Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins, who ran as a Green Party candidate, complained he was a victim of an anti-Establishment mood that was sweeping the country. The so-called “woke mayor” lost in a landslide against him.

Candidates on the hustings report that they have witnessed rising anger towards the Labour Government amongst voters they’ve talked to. There is no doubt that the cost of living crisis, the housing crisis, the climate crisis and so on are making people dissatisfied with a government that seems to be focused on all the wrong things.

According to Stuff political editor Luke Malpass there is a new “grumpiness” out there “in which a ‘I’ll turn the joint around’ sort of message resonates well.” He argues that Whanau’s “platform for change” was the same successful campaign message employed by Phil Mauger and Wayne Brown who won the Christchurch and Auckland mayoralties, respectively.

He says the Government needs to take notice: “this result will have Labour a bit worried. The sweep up and down the country suggest – at least to a degree – that there are voters who are ready to change and keen to lean into candidates with claimed competence or who stick to the knitting.”

The New Zealand Herald’s editorial yesterday had a similar reading of the situation: “Change is in the air the length of the country as several key local government elections opted for new brooms. The Government will be looking at the results with pursed lips as some Labour-annointed or linked mayoral candidates were shunned for those leaning right.”

The Herald explained that the left’s Auckland mayoralty candidate, Efeso Collins, suffered due to his “status quo” reputation during a change election. And with the centre-right Brown being elected, “It’s a first for the supercity after having leftist leaders since its inception almost 12 years ago.”

Collins in Auckland and Eagle in Wellington may even have suffered from Ardern’s endorsements of them. They both had much worse results than forecast. Herald political journalist Thomas Coughlan therefore pronounced that Ardern’s stardust has settled and her “once unshakable star power” has finally been repudiated. He says Labour received a bloody nose in the campaign.

A message to Labour over its reform programme

Coughlan explains that the Government now faces some tough decisions: “Labour now has to ponder whether it wants to go to war with a nation of right-wing mayors over Three Waters and RMA reform, or whether to drop or modify the policies (modification being far more likely) in recognition of the fact the electorate in many, perhaps most, parts of the country appears to have rejected them”.

Similarly, according to rightwing commentator David Farrar, “There were many reasons why so many left candidates lost – three waters, anti-car transport priorities, rates affordability etc. If Labour is sensible they will listen to the voters and ditch their Three Waters legislation. But if they refuse to listen, well they may get the same shock next year.”

Local Government NZ has also put out a similar analysis about the Labour Government’s reform programme being unpopular and an explanation for the degree of change in the election results. LGNZ’s president Stuart Crosby explains the reaction to Labour’s programme: “That is quite upsetting to a large number of people. That’s not to be unexpected there is that shift in political thinking… And it does lay a platform for the general election coming through this time next year as well.”

It’s the Government’s flagship policy of Three Waters reform that seems to be the most contentious with the public, and the leading candidate for Labour to axe if it wants to avoid a red-green bloodbath next year. As Nelson’s new mayor, ex-National MP Nick Smith says, the Government would have a “death wish” if it continued with this particular policy.

Will Labour listen?

Leftwing commentator Martyn Bradbury isn’t optimistic that the political left will draw any sensible lessons from the big defeats of the local elections: “The ramifications of the Left being smashed so badly should be a wake up call for the Left but it won’t.” He argues that they will focus instead on the victory of Tory Whanau, which he explains by the fact that “Wellington is the wokest city in NZ”.

Bradbury thinks the left will therefore double down on woke policies instead of going back to leftwing basics. He concludes: “The Left have spent far too much time talking and very little walking. Voters don’t believe we have the capacity to make transformational change any longer and are drifting back to the Right.”

In their upset over the big shift to the right throughout the country, many liberals are resorting to complaints about how the election was run to explain the failure of their preferred candidates. This comes across as sour grapes and an inability to face the reality of the public mood.

Nonetheless, there are some big questions about why voter turnout appears to have dropped, once again, to a record low – of about 40 per cent. In fact, once you consider that about 10 per cent of eligible voters aren’t even on the electoral roll at the moment, the real turnout was actually only about 36 per cent.

This record-low turnout is a problem. As some on the left have pointed out, it means that only about 10 per cent of Auckland have voted for Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. But it also reminds us that the left’s favourite winner from the weekend, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau, with about 16,000 votes, also only has a small fraction of support in the capital city.

So, it’s true that the latest election indicates that the current Labour Government has got a popularity problem. But this election also shows that most elected local politicians also have a legitimacy problem, supported by very few voters.

Further reading on Local Elections

Luke Malpass (Stuff): Local election results point to change – but how much?
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Stardust settled, Labour gets bloody nose in local elections (paywalled)
David Farrar: The slaughter of the lambs
Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Winners, losers, big losers, and gigantic losers from the 2022 local body elections
1News: Analysis: Councils tilt right, Auckland sees poor turnout
Richard Harman: The angry election (paywalled)
Isaac Davison (Herald): ‘Appetite for change’ – New mayors in most major centres in strong election for right-leaning mayors
Nik Dirga (RNZ): Changing of the guard across country
Herald Editorial: Mayoral chains rattle to the right in key areas (paywalled)
Ashleigh McCaull (RNZ): First wāhine Māori elected to lead their cities identify major issues
1News: Three Waters is ‘death wish’ for central govt – Nick Smith
1News: NZ ‘pushing back’ against Govt policies, Carterton’s mayor says
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): New Zealanders have rejected Three Waters and housing intensification with council votes, ACT’s David Seymour says
Cherie Howie (Herald): Candidates’ campaign highlights and lowlights
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Landed gentry boomers turn local politics right, online voting is not the answer & danger for the left in 2023 elections
Scott Palmer (Newshub): Christopher Luxon, Jacinda Ardern, Chlöe Swarbrick react to results
Kelvin McDonald (Māori TV): ‘Huge increase’ in Māori mayors

TURNOUT AND ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL ELECTIONS
Andy Asquith (Stuff): A new dawn or a false dawn?
Michael Neilson (Herald): Calls for review over ‘extremely concerning’ record low turnout
André Chumko (Stuff): It’s time to improve our local body election systems. How?
Erin Gourley and Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Low turnout and a toxic environment: what’s wrong with local government elections?
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Local Government NZ calls for voting review after ‘very disappointing’ turnout
Tom Dillane (Stuff): Local Govt NZ execs echo Ardern in seeking review of voting process after ‘disappointing” turnout
RNZ: Luxon calls for local body elections reform
Katie Ham (Stuff): National Party leader Christopher Luxon adds to calls for a review of local government voting process

AUCKLAND LOCAL ELECTIONS
Todd Niall (Stuff): How the leading campaigns won and lost the Auckland mayoralty
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wayne Brown: The storm before the storm
Simon Wilson (Herald): 10 big jobs for Auckland’s new mayor (paywalled)
Matthew Scott (Newsroom): Auckland Council’s shift away from Labour
Jonty Dine (RNZ): Mixed reactions to Wayne Brown voted as next Auckland mayor
Newshub: Siouxsie Wiles ‘gutted’ by Auckland Mayoral result
Herald: Losing Auckland mayoral candidate Efeso Collins says he will quit local politics
Todd Niall (Stuff): Auckland Transport directors stay after chair resigned due to mayor Wayne Brown’s call to leave
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): New Auckland mayor Wayne Brown cancels interviews

WELLINGTON LOCAL ELECTIONS
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington mayoralty: How an unknown beat a Labour MP (paywalled)
Steven Cowan: Tory Whanau: A corporate lobbyist is voted Wellington mayor
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Whanau bucks trend in referendum on leadership
Hamish Cardwell (RNZ): Failed Wellington mayoral candidiate Paul Eagle says ‘everyone voted on party lines’
Michael Neilson (Herald): Tory Whanau, Green Party-backed Wellington Mayor, on bucking right-wing trend across New Zealand
1News: Wellington’s new Green mayor Tory Whanau on the climate crisis
Kelvin McDonald (Māori TV): ‘The best day of my life’: Tory Whanau wins Wellington mayoralty
RNZ: Tory Whanau wins Wellington mayoralty: ‘It was just such an amazing moment’
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Even split of fresh faces and experience on Wellington’s new council

DUNEDIN LOCAL ELECTIONS
RNZ: New Dunedin mayor Jules Radich: Landslide results shows need for change in direction
ODT Editorial: Ballot box brutality
Otago Daily Times: ‘It’s devastating’: Aaron Hawkins surprised at decisive loss in Dunedin mayoral race

OTHER LOCAL ELECTIONS
Skara Bohny (Stuff): New Nelson mayor Nick Smith gets down to business
Chris Hyde (Herald): Hawke’s Bay chooses the status quo, but can they fix its problems? (paywalled)
Tess Brunton (RNZ): Nobby Clark steps into Tim Shadbolt’s shoes as mayor of Invercargill
Erin Gourley (Stuff): Too close to call: the mayoral races where a few votes could change the result
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Western BOP’s new mayor to bring a ‘younger perspective’
Matthew Rosenberg (Local Democracy Reporting): Wairoa Mayor Craig Little pleased to win ‘horrible’ campaign

Other items of interest and importance today

GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Why the National/Labour donations trial raises troubling questions about our democratic defences
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Will 2023 deliver NZ’s most extreme government in 30 years? (paywalled)
Henry Cooke (Guardian): From minister to lobbyist in three months: New Zealand needs to do better on transparency
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Faafoi does a Neale Jones and the Professional Managerial Class advance
Thomas Mead (1News): ‘Less than adequate’ – Govt proposes ACC reform
Johnny Blades (RNZ): Treading water: the plight of the First Term MP
Daisy Cousens (Sky News Australia): Ardern’s war on ‘disinformation’ is a thinly-veiled attempt to ban the opinions of anyone who disagrees with her

ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENT AND INEQUALITY
Susan St John (Daily Blog): Child poverty in NZ – what is the truth here?
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): Sacrificing 50,000 workers on the altar of inflation is madness
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Government removes qualification requirement for migrant chefs as part of new immigration support for hospitality, tourism sectors
Liam Dann (Herald): Time to hit pause on interest rate hikes? (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Stuff): The woman fighting New Zealand’s ‘unfairest tax law’

OTHER
Ben Espiner (The Platform): First we tweak democracy – now we tweak journalism
Audrey Young (Herald): The Supreme Court’s audacious decision on tikanga (paywalled)
Cushla Norman (1News): Ellis co-accused demands answers following court ruling
Ricardo Simich (Herald): Spy’s Auckland Power List: Who really pulls the strings in the City of Sails? (paywalled)
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): Amazing comments in Law Society review, but a less amazing outcome (paywalled)
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Education Ministry puts record keeping software on hold due to cybersecurity concerns

A number of Māori wāhine have put their hat in the ring to become mayor at this year’s Aotearoa New Zealand local body election across the motu in October.

Georgina Beyer is believed to be the first and only Māori woman ever elected as mayor in New Zealand’s history when she became mayor of Carterton in 1995.

Arama Ngāpō had been a councillor for six years before putting her hand up for mayor of South Waikato this election.

Ngāpō said she was confident things would be different after the vote.

“The face of democracy at a local government level is going to change after this October election.”

Diversity was the best representation of a community, Ngāpō said.

However, it was often not seen at a governance level, she said.

‘Indicative of where we stand’
“I don’t think this country has ever seen such a high proportion of Māori people stand but that really is just indicative of where we stand in society.”

No one should look at council and wonder whether they belong there, she said.

But as a practising lawyer, she had experienced that feeling before, she said.

“I guess I am used to being in places that aren’t traditionally comfortable, but we most definitely belong there.”

Tania Tapsell (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whakaue) is standing for mayor of Rotorua for the first time.

She received more votes as a councillor than the elected mayor, Steve Chadwick, in the two previous elections.

Racist and ageist backlash only fuelled her, she said.

Facing challenging times
“It was almost a challenge where I go, ‘I’m going to prove you wrong’ and I am going to work so hard that there will be no doubt that … Rotorua, for us, or the country for others, was not better off through our involvement.”

Tapsell believed the strong number of wāhine Māori standing for mayor had crystallised from the challenging times the whole country had experienced.

“We now require a different style of leadership. A leadership that is actually connected to all parts of our community because we know only four out of 10 people actually bother to vote.

“That’s why we have had the councils that we’ve had in the past, that haven’t been focused on all areas of the community.”

In the Far North, Kelly Stratford (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāi Te Rangi) is also standing for mayor for the first time.

Strong Māori leadership was needed across the motu, Stratford said.

“Society has changed, we have the Māori Health Authority and Māori Wards.

“Some people feel like something has been taken from them and, most of all, Māori feel they are more empowered. We need diverse Māori leadership to lead in these new times of challenge.”

Alongside Stratford, Tapsell and Ngāpo, Māori wāhine are also standing for mayor in Kawerau, Ruapehu and Wellington.

Candidate nominations close at midday 12 August.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A district mayor says the Aotearoa New Zealand local government sector is ready to launch into a future that embraces more youthful members, Māori and climate change action.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) annual conference underway in Palmerston North had “launched our heads into the future”.

McDouall, the vice-president of LGNZ, said yesterday the hot topics were the changing face of elected membership, partnership with Māori and climate change.

“The clear message is about the future. The future is going to change. It is about youth involvement and embracing hapū and iwi.

“With the next generations’ birth rates significantly higher for Māori than Pākehā, co-governance arrangements and those kind of things just have to be in place.

“The exciting thing about today is you can tell that local government is wanting change, ready for change.”

The sector could not ignore the climate change crisis, McDouall said.

Climate deniers ‘on wrong planet’
“If there’s any climate change denier out there, you’re on the wrong planet. Local government needs to get more active and make bold decisions.

“Any decision we make proactively now is going to make it less difficult to adapt in 10 years. We’ve just got to do things now.

“I have climate change sceptics on my council but anyone entering local government should understand this is the crisis for the rest of our lives.”

The third burning issue at the conference was rating, McDouall said.

“Rates don’t work as a funding tool alone – that’s why Three Waters is happening, because we simply can’t afford it.”

Thirty-five councils across the country will have Māori wards at this year’s local body elections, 32 of them for the first time.

Te Maruata collective ‘thrilled’
Bonita Bigham, chair of the sector’s Māori collective Te Maruata, said the network was thrilled to be welcoming more than 50 new Māori ward members into the sector in October.

Te Maruata spent a day together before the main conference began on Wednesday.

“We were thrilled — really thrilled — for the first time ever to have at least six Māori mayoral candidates in the room,” Bigham said.

But she said it was clear that the council environment does not support Māori elected members. The results of a survey of elected members released by LGNZ this week revealed that half the respondents have experienced racism, gender discrimination and other harmful behaviour.

“So [on Tuesday] we launched Te Āhuru Mōwai, a tuakana-teina initiative which will enable Māori members on any council to reach out into our collective strength and experience for guidance and support,” Bigham said.

In his president’s address, Stuart Crosby said local councils must build relationships and partnerships with all sectors of the community, including tangata whenua.

“It’s not about power and control anymore. It’s all about partnership. We cannot serve our communities and do our jobs justice if we don’t partner with mana whenua.”

Most diverse sector
Far North District councillor Moko Tepania, co-chair of LGNZ’s Young Elected Member (YEM) network, told the conference that “YEMs” represent the most diverse sector of local government.

“That gives an indication of how different local government will look in the future compared to today and the past,” he said.

Tepania, 31, is running for the Far North mayoralty in October’s elections. If successful he’ll be the youngest ever Far North mayor. He was elected as a Kaikohe-Hokianga Ward councillor at the last local government election in 2019.

Ruapehu District’s youngest councillor Elijah Pue is also running for mayor. At 28, he, too, would be the youngest mayor ever elected in his district if successful. He was elected as a Waimarino-Waiouru Ward representative in 2019.

Pue said yesterday co-governance and partnership were being openly and frankly discussed.

“How do we embody the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a way that allows councils to focus on community wellbeing, and partnerships and relationships for the betterment of our mokopuna?

“We want meaningful change in our communities. Our outlook no longer needs to be for a 10-year long-term plan, it actually needs to be for a thousand-year generational outlook.

Future-focused leadership
“We need future-focused leadership that doesn’t dwell on the past. We need younger, browner, more future-focused leadership that puts our grandchildren, born or unborn, at the forefront of our decisions.”

Fellow Ruapehu mayoralty contender, councillor Adie Doyle, said the clear thrust of the conference was that youth and Māori would have greater input into local government.

“It’s just the way the population statistics are going. The importance of partnerships and working together – some people call it co-governance – is a key takeaway.

“These conferences are designed to challenge your thinking. You come away with maybe a different perspective.

“I support the principle of partnerships, but they have to be fit for purpose, and not all partnerships need to be equal – it’s about working together for the benefit of both parties. It’s for problem solving.”

YEM co-chair Lan Pham – the highest polling candidate elected to Environment Canterbury Regional Council in 2016 – said the key imperative of the network of elected members aged 40 or younger was a transformational approach to environmental protection.

“Every major transformation didn’t just happen, they were designed. We think it’s time for this level of change to happen again.”

Decide on next steps
Horizons Regional Council chair Rachel Keedwell told the conference it was crucial for local government to focus on the YEM vision and decide on the next steps urgently.

“We need to start putting those in place now and focus on the legacy that we’re leaving rather than whether we are going to get re-elected,” Keedwell said.

“We’re moving too slow for the size of the crises that are in front of us. I could get overwhelmed by the scale of the task in front of us: biodiversity, pollution, water quality – numerous crises at the same time.

“We’ve focused on economy rather than environment. That’s how we’ve ended up where we are. We’re living beyond the capacity of the earth. We’re living on credit and that credit is borrowed from the next generation.”

The four-day conference is being attended by a record more than 600 mayors, chairs, councillors, community board members and stakeholders who are hearing from the Prime Minister and other Ministers, the Opposition and sector leaders about policy areas and issues that impact councils and local communities.

The conference ends today.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air. Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz