Environment Bay of Plenty and Tangata Whenua

Purpose

Environment Bay of Plenty is the regional council for the Bay of Plenty region. The Council has three Māori constituency seats. This effectively gives Māori a voice at the decision making table and involvement in all Council processes. It also demonstrates the Council’s active commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Background

The Māori constituencies were established by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001.

The Act was in response to concerns iwi had over the lack of Māori representation on council. In 1996 the Māori Regional Representation Committee proposed that the Council establish Māori seats, similar to the Māori seats in Parliament. Deliberations were held between Council and iwi and a local bill was proposed to establish Māori constituencies.

The Council then engaged in extensive consultation with the community. They called for public submissions on the proposal and appointed an independent Commissioner, Judge Peter Trapski, to conduct hearings and provide a report. Seven hundred and fifty written submissions were received in favour of the proposal and 252 against.

Judge Trapski’s report listed the public arguments both for and against but ultimately recommended that the Council should continue to promote the establishment of a Māori constituency. He concluded that:

  • For whatever reason, the fact is that in some places 16% of the population in the Bay of Plenty, and in others, up to 58% of that population, clearly perceive that they are unrepresented at the Council table.
  • Adoption of the proposal would deliver to Māori the same voting rights as others. Their electoral rights would be no greater than those afforded to any other voter in the region and I can see no way in which the proposal would enable Māori to “outvote” the other members of the regional council as a block. The proposal would in my view not disadvantage anyone.
  • The proposal is in line with the delivery of the democratic process in New Zealand, and in conformity with New Zealand’s "constitutional principles.”
  • From here, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Bill was drafted in early 1999 and introduced into Parliament in September 2000. The Bill was robustly debated in Parliament and despite some opposition was passed in October 2001.

The Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002 has extended the same possibility to other Councils. They can resolve to do it either by resolution of the Council or by a poll of electors. A number of Councils have considered the option since but no one has taken it up.

Roles

Environment Bay of Plenty has 13 councillors. They are elected as follows:

There are four general constituencies:

  • Tauranga (which elects four councillors)
  • Rotorua (two councillors)
  • Western Bay of Plenty (two councillors)
  • Eastern Bay of Plenty (two councillors).

The Māori constituencies all fall within the Waiariki Māori electoral district and broadly match different tribal areas. The names are of historic significance to local Tangata Whenua – Mauao, Okurei and Kohi. They also largely coincide with local government boundaries.

  • Mauao includes the Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council areas
  • Okurei the Rotorua District Council
  • Kohi the Whakatane, Opotiki and Kawerau District Councils.

Each constituency elects one Māori councilor.

What happens

The Māori constituencies

In the Bay of Plenty, as with Parliament, everyone has only one vote and the number of councillors is based on the number of people on the electoral rolls. Voters in the Māori constituencies are those who have opted to be on the Māori electoral roll rather than the general roll. Once elected the Māori councillors have the same roles and responsibilities as other councillors and they serve on a range of council committees.

The Māori Committee

Environment Bay of Plenty established a Māori Committee in 2006. Membership currently includes all three Māori councillors, but it is chaired by one of the other councillors, Robin Forde. It also includes councillor Malcolm Whitaker and, ex officio, Council Chair John Cronin. Other councillors are free to attend and some do. Committee meetings are held on marae throughout the region, and standing orders are flexibly applied to encourage maximum participation by Māori.

The purpose of the committee is to:

  • consider governance issues relating to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and Council’s legislative obligations to Māori
  • oversee Council’s work to build the capacity of Māori to contribute to Council’s decision-making processes.

Its roles are to:

  • monitor Council’s compliance with its obligations to Māori under the Local Government Act 2002 and the Resource Management Act 1991
  • facilitate Tangata Whenua input into Council’s policy development and implementation work
  • provide Tangata Whenua inputs on community outcome matters for the Bay of Plenty region
  • develop processes to enhance Māori capacity to contribute to Council’s decision-making processes
  • support iwi/hapū to prepare management plans
  • develop and oversee processes for Council to receive iwi/hapū management plans, and
  • provide advice to Council on effective consultation mechanisms and processes for Māori
  • advise the Council, Iwi and government departments on Treaty and Foreshore and Seabed settlements. The Treaty settlement role has currently assumed particular significance because negotiations are occurring on seven Treaty claims in the region.

The Māori Policy Unit

The Māori Policy Unit is part of the Council’s Strategy Development Group. They feed the information and advice from The Māori Committee into the wider work of the Council. It is led by Māori Policy Manager Kataraina Belshaw and has three Māori Policy Officers, based in Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatane. The Unit’s work includes:

  • assisting hapū and iwi to develop iwi resource management plans
  • providing advice to staff on Māori engagement, iwi dynamics, Treaty settlements and national and local Māori issues
  • supporting the Māori standing committee
  • maintaining a Māori contact directory
  • supporting hapū and iwi initiatives to help build capacity and capability.

What is working well

The 2001 Act ensures Māori are now represented at a decision making level. This has improved relationships and created a regular dialogue between Māori and the Council. Both Iwi and the Council largely agree that this has been a change for the better.

The Chair of the council, John Cronin, says: “The system works well for us. It has been a catalyst for an improved relationship between the Council and Māori.” In a media release in August 2009 he noted: “Our Māori constituency councillors have participated across the whole of the council, not just on Māori issues. They do a good job both as councillors and presenting Māori issues, and carry out the same duties as any of the other councillors.”

Chief Executive Bill Bayfield says having the Māori constituency seats is “a huge strength” and brings “significant savings” in council operations. “Having Māori at the decision making table means the council is always informed and always equally engaged. Māori councillors bring their networks, their constituency issues and the pulse of their communities”. He describes it simply as “good business practice”. The direct engagement of Māori and general constituency councillors in decision making “provides councillors with opportunities for personal development”. He notes,

“I believe the arrangement in the Bay with three Māori Councillors allow the Māori committee to become the Councillors’ link to iwi. We didn’t anticipate that when we set up the committee but it has evolved into that role, and done it very well.”

Māori councillors are also strongly supportive of the arrangements. Councillor Tai Eru says “Māori should be sitting at the table as of right as mana whenua. At least our voice is heard and that is really important.” Councillor Raewyn Bennett says the system is “going well” and “I really don’t know how Māori got represented before and can see how they missed out. Others try but they haven’t got that depth of understanding or commitment to Māori issues. I would not stand in a general seat for the same reasons.”

Māori in the region support these councillors. Te Awanui Black of Ngāti Pukenga says: “It is vitally important for Tangata Whenua to be there in their own right, and the best place is at the governance level.” In comparison to the iwi dealings with the other territorial local authorities in the region, “access to decision-making is a lot easier” and Māori representation “has influenced the way the council operates”. He sees it as “a means to influence in a very positive way with a flow-on benefit back to the community as a whole.”

Anthony Olsen of Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau says “In a perfect world Māori representation would be dealt with in the mainstream, but it’s not. The Māori seats are necessary on the regional council, partly because one third of the population is Māori, one third of the land is owned by Māori and the proportion is rising through the Treaty settlement process. Even among non-Māori it is generally accepted that Māori representation is a good thing.” He says he is “100 per cent supportive” of the arrangements, and “the optimum would be for them to flow through to the district councils”. “There is a will on the part of the iwi to be a strong economic partner, to be a positive contributor to the Bay of Plenty economy and to share the benefits with everyone.”

Councillor Andrew von Dadelszen says he is “opposed in principle to separate Māori representation but in practice it works very well. We have learnt to respect each other, and both councillors and staff have learnt a lot. The council is now very inclusive of iwi and that is a good thing…. Now that we have these seats it would be damaging to take them away in the short term. With the completion of the treaty settlement process I would like to think that within ten years they would no longer be required.”

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Article 18: Decision making

Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision making matters which would affect their rights, through their own representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own decision making institutions.

Looking ahead

The creation of dedicated Māori seats on local government brings new challenges and opportunities, not only for Environment Bay of Plenty and its constituents, but for Aotearoa, New Zealand as a whole. Councillor Bennett notes the job has its moments “mainly because there are no models for us to follow, everything we do is new and that has special challenges.”

The sharing of democratic governance at a regional level continues to be debated both in the Bay of Plenty and around the county. In 2006, the National MP for Bay of Plenty, Tony Ryall drafted a private members bill, the Local Electoral (Repeal of Race-Based Representation) Amendment Bill, which was drawn for the ballot and introduced to the House. The Bill failed to proceed beyond its first reading.

The Auckland Super City is an example of the continuing debate on dedicated Māori seats. Arguments against the seats are similar to those when the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001 was introduced.

Documentation


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