Creating Treaty-based Local Governance in New Zealand: Māori and Pākehā Views

Date
2017-07-11
Authors
Webster, K
Cheyne, C
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Abstract

This article explores the need for Treaty-based local governance, raised to national prominence by the 2014 outrage against New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd, who advocated a Māori ward for 2016. The Treaty of Waitangi influenced the creation of Māori seats in Parliament in the nineteenth century, and a provision for Māori seats in local councils in 2001. There has been limited uptake of the latter and Māori remain significantly under-represented. Innovations in governing arrangements have allowed non-elected Māori to take up advisory roles and, in some cases, decision-making roles. We argue that these do not ensure fair and effective Māori representation. Ad hoc and unpredictable structures have failed to deliver fair and effective representation to all New Zealanders. There is a pressing need for a New Zealand constitutional debate – a conversation among Māori and non-Māori – to devise a governance model that addresses the Treaty of Waitangi as New Zealand’s founding document.

Description
Keywords
Governance; Kaupapa Māori; Local government; New Zealand; Treaty-based
Source
Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 12(2), 146-164.
Rights statement
© 2017 The Royal Society of New Zealand. All papers published Open Access under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.