November 24, 2020
Maori seats inevitable
Former New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Māori wards in local government are inevitable.
A number of councils around the country including three of the four in Northland have voted to create Māori seats, even though they risk being overturned by referendum.
Mr Jones says the push for Māori seats highlights the need for councils to find ways to address long-standing challenges facing Māori land, Māori development and Māori participation.
"Unless you integrate and involve Māori and participate and try and broaden the base of acceptance for a lot of what local government is doing it just leads to bitterness and it leads to far too much divisiveness so I just see it as an inevitability," he says.
The Public Service Association representing local government workers has asked Minister Nanaia Mahuta to move quickly on her pledge to remove the binding referendum section from the Act.
Copyright © 2020, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com