Incoming Wellington councillor Elijah Pue says he’s elated at the vote to keep Māori constituencies at Horizons Regional Council. Photo: Supplied
Wellington’s regional council will keep its two Māori constituencies after special votes pushed a paper-thin margin to a comfortable majority.
In final results declared by Horizons Regional Council on Saturday, the option to keep the Māori constituencies received 36,864 votes while 36,088 votes were returned to remove them. The difference is 776.
Newly-elected Raki Māori (Māori North) candidate Elijah Pue said watching the numbers had been “a roller-coaster ride”.
“My heart sank when I saw the progress results but there was a narrow swing in preliminary results.
“Then, in our Horizons rohe, Horowhenua, Tararua, Rangitīkei and Manawatu all abandoned our Māori wards, so the result for our regional council was on a knife-edge.”
The final result was delayed due to counting the large number of special votes.
“To get a phone call this morning to be told that we have won by 776 votes, what a great phone call to receive on a Saturday morning,” Pue said.
The outcome marks a turnaround from progress results a week ago, which showed a 988-vote lead for those wanting to remove Māori constituencies.
Preliminary results on Monday showed the count favouring Māori seats, but by the slimmest of margins – just 123 votes.
Pue said he was elated by the final count.
“People from across the rohe can be excited that this is great day for democracy in Aotearoa.
“Our community has seen the benefits that Māori constituencies bring to local democracy across the Horizons rohe.
“I know and our community agrees that Māori constituencies are going to make for greater, more representative democracy, diverse decision-making and overall better governance.”
Te Kenehi Teira (file photo) Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
The Tonga Māori (Māori South) regional constituency will be represented by Te Kenehi Teira, who was elected unopposed.
Pue, standing for Te Pāti Māori, received 2181 votes for the Raki Māori regional constituency, more than 1100 ahead of second-placed Soraya Peke-Mason.
“I will continue to work for that vote and the confidence voters have placed in me and I’m committed to doing that,” Pue said.
The poll result is binding and will apply for elections in 2028 and 2031, locking in guaranteed Māori representation for the next nine years.
Pue said this created opportunity for long-term planning and leadership.
“The key thing is bringing a Māori perspective to the table. That brings an opportunity to highlight the beauty and benefits that can be achieved in terms of our natural environment when we bring our two worlds together.
“This is about saying: with your hand on one handle of the basket and mine on the other, we can flourish together and protect our environment for future generations. The decisions we make today will impact on our mokopuna born tomorrow and in generations to come.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.