Representation Review 2024

Whanganui District Council affirmed its decision to establish a Māori ward at a full council meeting on Tuesday, 3 September.

Under legislation introduced by the coalition government in May 2024, Whanganui’s elected representatives had the option of either reversing their October 2023 decision to bring in a Māori ward or affirming their decision to establish a Māori ward with the requirement to hold a referendum.

Under a Māori ward system in Whanganui, people enrolled on the Māori electoral roll would vote for two candidates for the Māori ward and those on the general roll would vote for candidates standing for general wards.

Local body elections will be held on Saturday, 11 October 2025 – as well as selecting a Mayor and councillors, people will vote to retain the Māori ward or reverse the decision. The result of the binding Māori ward referendum will take effect at the 2028 and 2031 local government elections.

The Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 was passed on 30 July 2024 and has been enacted.

Under the amended Act, councils that established a Māori ward without holding a poll following the 2021 changes will be required to hold a poll at the 2025 local elections. If a council does not want to hold a poll at the 2025 local elections they will have the option to reverse their decisions on Māori wards. This would involve rescinding the decision if it has not yet been implemented, or disestablishing Māori wards if they are already in place.

The Department has updated the fact sheet to help councils understand the legislative requirements

The Act can be found here - Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 No 28 (NZ Legislation website).

The Local Government Commission has also produced guidelines for local authorities making decisions on Māori wards and Māori constituencies.

Councils that resolved to establish Māori wards this term (without holding a poll) have until 6 September 2024 to either rescind the decision to establish the wards or continue existing representation arrangements.

Whanganui District Council will meet on Tuesday, 3 September to make a decision.

Whanganui District Council voted in October 2023 to include Māori wards for the 2025 local body elections. This has been worked into the proposal and is no longer being consulted on. This alters the voting dynamic, meaning the community can no longer vote as a single entity. Voters will be split by their electoral roll status, general, or Māori.

The representation review process determines the composition of Whanganui District Council, including:

• the number of councillors to be elected
• the basis of election for councillors (wards and boundaries)
• whether we have community boards, and if so, their locations, structures, and the number of members they have

A community board consists of members elected to represent local interests in a specific community and serve as a bridge between the community and the council.

Wards are integral parts of the council and comprise groups of councillors who collectively represent their respective community interests at the council table.

The Remuneration Authority sets the budget for this district, which is then distributed among the councillors. The fewer councillors we have, the more each councillor receives from that pool of money.

These changes will take effect from the 2025 local election.

Those people voting for the Whanganui Rural Community Board are also entitled to vote in either the Māori Ward or General Ward, according to which roll they are enrolled on, as well as for the Mayor.

Māori ward councillors carry the same responsibilities as other councillors. Their role is to represent the significance of the Māori community's voice and ensure that issues important to Māori can be directly addressed within the council.

Electors on the Māori electoral roll can only vote for candidates from a Māori ward, while electors on the general electoral roll can only vote for candidates from a general ward. Everybody votes for the mayor.

If you are of Māori descent, you can enrol in either the general or Māori electoral rolls.  If you are not of Māori descent you can only enrol on the General Electoral roll. You can find more information about the Māori Electoral Option on the Electoral Commission’s website.

To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must be:

• A New Zealand citizen (by birth or citizenship ceremony) and
• Enrolled as a Parliamentary elector (anywhere in New Zealand) and
• Candidates in Māori wards do not need to be of Māori descent. However, they need to be nominated by two people on the Māori electoral roll in the area the candidate is standing. 

Candidates cannot stand for both a general ward and a Māori ward at the same time.