August 24, 2017
Auckland Maori council business under remote control
The New Zealand Maori Council may have to step in to organise the next elections for the Auckland District Maori Council.
The High Court has ruled the Auckland council doesn’t exist this term because the 2015 election, where Maori committee and council elections were held at the same hui, was unlawful.
The set-up meant candidates from Orakei and Te Raki Paewhenua could not get on the district council.
It was also against the advice given by the national body, which was trying to get Maori associations to run their elections in accordance with the law.
Barrister Phillip Cornege, who acted for the council, says there’s no point conducting an election before the scheduled triennial round next February.
"The business of the Auckland district will have to be conducted by the four legitimate Maori committees which existed prior to the election and elected representatives, and it is likely the New Zealand Maori Council will need to step into the void, for example in managing next year's Auckland triennial elections," he says.
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