Growing tensions between supporters and opponents of Māori wards in New Zealand local authorities have led to the shooting of a distinctive ute belonging to New Plymouth City Councillor Murray Chong.
Chong was not in the vehicle when it was shot at.
The issue is inflaming racial tensions in the country after the Coalition rescinded a law passed by the previous Labour government allowing councils to make their own judgement as to whether they wanted a separate ward representing Māori electors.
Under the new law, a council that has decided to adopt a Māori ward was required to vote on scrapping it or retaining it until the 2025 local authority elections. Then, a binding referendum of electors will make the final decision.
Chong had been an outspoken opponent of the New Plymouth council’s decision to adopt the ward.
When the second vote was held on Aug. 6, he abstained, saying he would not be putting up any further resistance to a Māori ward next year because he feared for his safety.
He claimed that over the past five years, he had received several letters threatening his life, been told that if he walked alone at night, he would be assaulted, and “had people say they will grab my dog, chop it up into quarters and leave it on my doorstep.”
His daughter has also been harassed.
Mayor Neil Holdom confirmed he had seen evidence the vehicle had been shot at.
“I just urge people to contain themselves and contain this aggressive, this streak that’s coming out in our politics as our society sort of dis-aggregates into what seems a very polarised view that there is one side versus the other, as opposed to there are differing views, and we’ve got to land in the middle,” he said
“I think it is appalling. I think it is a reflection of behaviour across the country of ... increasingly aggressive behaviour towards council elected representatives.”
Council Māori Wards
Where a Māori ward would operate, the system would mirror what has long been in place for Māori seats in Parliament.People who choose to be registered on the Māori electoral roll would vote for a Māori ward councillor instead of a councillor representing their local area.
Māori and non-Māori would still receive one vote for the mayor and vote for any “at large” councillors in their area.
New Plymouth council voted to keep the seat despite the last poll showing that 83 percent of residents were against it. Kapiti District Council and Palmerston North City Council reached a similar decision this week.
On Aug. 7, Kaipara District Council voted 6-3 to scrap its Māori ward, becoming the first council in the country to do so. The meeting drew around 200 protesters on both sides of the issue, who were kept from entering the council chamber by a contingent of police.
As expected, the local iwi (Māori tribe) have lodged legal proceedings against the decision.
The council will incur legal fees in addition to the cost of holding a referendum next year and an estimated $25,000 to disestablish the ward.
Some councils seem set on ignoring the Sept. 6 deadline to make a decision, which will commit their ratepayers to the cost of a referendum by default—a figure cited as anywhere between $35,000 and $250,000 depending on the population and other factors.
The Law Changed, Then Changed Back
Over the past 20 years, 24 councils attempted to create Māori wards under old legislation, with only two succeeding. Unlike other types of wards, Māori wards could be overturned by community-initiated referenda.Labour’s 2021 law removed the ability to call for polls, while the Coalition’s recent change not only restored it but made it mandatory.
The majority of the National Party accepted the policy as part of its concession to NZ First and ACT, both of which demanded it as part of the coalition agreement. Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori voted against the bill.
Last week, leaders of the Ngāpuhi iwi walked out of a meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a protest over coalition government policies.
At the same time, Palmerston North City Council announced it is investigating the ramifications of refusing to hold a referendum, with a report due to be presented at a future meeting.
That brought a veiled warning from Luxon, who referred to the Labour government’s decision to replace the Tauranga City Council with commissioners.
“That would be an even bigger blow to democracy than the council refusing a referendum,” he said.
