November 26, 2014
Little backs council Maori seat push
Labour leader Andrew Little is backing the creation of a Maori seat on the New Plymouth District Council.
The council voted narrowly for a Maori ward at the next election, and it's now waiting to see if a petition against the plan can get enough signatures to force a referendum.
Mr Little, who stood for New Plymouth at the election, says mayor Andrew Judd has taken a couragious stand, and he has backed him publicly and privately.
"It’s about local government being reflective and representative of their community and the fact that there’s been so little Maori representation at the electorate level for so long. If you look at the Maori population of Taranaki, the strength of it and also the strength of the history there, it ought to be a source of embarrassment that we haven’t had stronger Maori representation at the local government level before now, so all power to him, I think he’s going the right way," he says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW LITTLE CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjQzNjY=
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