Māori Ward Poll
The Māori Ward Poll for Te Pakikau o te Ika: Keep or Remove.
The 2025 local elections for Hauraki District Council will feature a binding vote where all voters decide whether to keep or remove the Māori Ward.
The poll will take place from 9 September (once you receive your voting documents) up to 12 noon on Saturday 11 October 2025, under the First Past the Post electoral system via postal vote.
The result of the poll will be legally enforceable and will be applicable to the 2028 and 2031 triennial elections.
Whether you're enrolled on the Māori roll or the General roll, all enrolled individuals can vote in this poll.
Te Pakikau o te Ika Māori Ward will continue to exist for the 2025 - 2028 term, regardless of the outcome.
How Māori wards operate
Māori wards are similar in purpose to Māori electorates in Parliament. Māori roll voters elect Māori ward councillors, while general roll voters elect general ward councillors.
Everyone votes for the mayor.
Each councillor acts in the best interest of the entire community, making a pledge to serve every resident and ratepayer.
Why a Poll?
The current coalition government made changes to the Local Electoral Act 2001 that made it compulsory for council to conduct a binding poll with the 2025 local election.
The outcome of the poll decides the future of Māori wards for council beyond the year 2028. If the poll result supports keeping the Māori ward – 50% or more - there will be an electoral contest for them at the local elections in 2028 and 2031. If the 2025 poll result shows that the majority of people favour removing the Māori ward, then there will be no electoral contest for them in 2028 and 2031, but this will necessitate a review of representation beforehand, namely in 2027.
The journey we have undertaken thus far:
Following a 2024 representation review, Te Pakikau o te Ika Māori ward was officially confirmed to:
- Uphold the principles of partnership, protection and participation as outlined in Te Tiriti o Waitangi;
- support and enhance opportunities for Māori to participate in local government decision-making processes;
- Provide fairer representation for Māori communities
Council has an obligation under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) and a commitment to:
- take appropriate account of the Treaty principles, and these are intended to facilitate participation by Māori in local authority decision-making processes.
- establish, maintain and improve processes to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority
- consider ways in which it may foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority; and
- provide relevant information to Māori for the purposes of their contribution to decision making and fostering their capacity to contribute.
Legislation was updated in July 2024 by Central Government mandating changes to Māori Wards, and under the legislation our Council had two options:
- Rescind the decision to establish the Māori Ward ahead of the 2025 local elections.
- Affirm the decision to establish the Māori Ward for 2025 and hold a binding poll alongside the 2025 election with the outcome to come into effect for the 2028 election.
Council made their decision to establish the Māori Ward and hold a binding poll alongside the 2025 local government elections, reaffirming its commitment to Māori representation.
Further information on the Māori wards journey can be found on our Lets Talk/Kōrero Mai website.
Tēnei te huinga o te tangata ka oki. Tēnei te mauri o te wānanga ka moe
Ko te ngākau me te wairua kia wātea. Ko te tinana me te hinengaro kia tā
Whano, whano. Haramai te toki. Haumi ē, hui ē, tāiki ē
