Source: Radio New Zealand
New Plymouth District Councillor and Te Maruata co-chair Dinnie Moeahu. Supplied / NPDC
Te Maruata – the national committee of Māori elected members within LGNZ – is celebrating the largest ever cohort of Māori elected members in local government.
But it is also looking towards the challenges ahead in the next three years, culminating in 2028 where Māori wards at 24 councils will be phased out.
Members of Te Maruata met in Wellington in December 2025, with Dinnie Moeahu and Aubrey Ria elected as co-chairs for the next three years.
Gisborne District Councillor Aubrey Ria said almost two-thirds of Māori elected members are new to their roles.
“Our network has grown to over 160 Māori elected members this term, up from 145 members in 2022 – this is our largest-ever number. This includes 64 Māori ward councillors across 37 local councils and 13 Māori constituency members across 5 regional councils,” she said.
New Plymouth District Councillor, Dinnie Moeahu said among the key challenges for the next triennium will be the RMA reforms, the governments rates capping directive, as well as the proposal to ditch regional councils, which he said “wasn’t anticipated at all.”
“But we do know that at least we’ve got a full term with a strong level of Māori representation across Aotearoa at a local government level to hopefully help continue to influence and provide education and awareness to kaupapa that is deeply entrenched and embedded in hapū, iwi.”
Among the key concerns with the local government shake up is where will the provisions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi land and whether there will be a tangata whenua voice in the Combined Territories Boards which are proposed to replace regional councils, he said.
Moeahu said the widespread introduction of Māori Wards saw an increase in Māori participation in local government from 2019 onwards.
“So 2028 will severely impact Māori representation on councils and the aftermath of that, again, will still be determined. So currently right now, we’ve got three years to help our communities, to build bridges, to advocate on behalf of our communities.”
Under the Local Government Act there are statutory obligations to Māori and Moeahu said there may be a portion of elected members that may not be aware of how that works practically inside councils.
“But with the growth of Māori representation there’s been this ability to walk alongside elected members, councils and communities to identify that there’s a lot of good things that are coming from te ao Māori. I know from Ngā Iwi o Taranaki, from that standpoint, I mean, we’re one of the biggest, if not the biggest, developers in our region, one of the biggest employers across the construction sector in our regions, therefore one of the largest ratepayers in our region.”
A lot of iwi who have completed their Treaty Settlements are now reinvesting in their communities, he said.
“Working alongside Māori isn’t a negative. It’s actually really beneficial for the hauora of our community. So that’s something that a Māori perspective can offer to council and the reasons why it’s important to build and strengthen these relationships from a council standpoint with hapū and iwi, because collectively we can make some real positive impacts that’ll benefit the entire community.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
