The majority of Western Bay of Plenty mayoral candidates are in favour of Māori Wards, according to a first of its kind survey.

Local Democracy Reporting's 14 journalists canvassed the country's 291 mayoral candidates on key issues to produce the ‘2022 Local Democracy Reporting mayoral candidate survey'.

The mayoral hopefuls were quizzed on Māori Wards, rates, Three Waters and climate change.

LDR Alisha Evans looks at the Western Bay candidates thoughts on Māori wards compared to the rest of New Zealand.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council does not have a Māori ward and establishing one will likely be a hot topic ahead of its representation review in the next triennium.

The review will look at what form the wards and community boards should take and how many elected members there should be to best represent the district's population at the 2025 election.

Māori wards will form part of this review, but are not mandatory and can be voted on by the council.

Of the country's 67 councils, 34 will have Māori wards or constituencies in the upcoming election on October 8.

Tauranga City Council had its review this year and adopted a Māori Ward for the first time, but won't have an election until 2024 when the government appointed commissioners' term ends.

When Western Bay of Plenty mayoral candidates were asked if Māori wards were an effective way to increase Māori participation, both as candidates and as voters, five of the seven respondents (71 per cent) said yes.

This compares to close to half (48.5 per cent) nationally saying yes, with a quarter unsure (26.2 per cent) and just 25.2 per cent rejected the proposition outright.

Te Tiriti Close to half of the 291 candidates surveyed said Maori wards were effective in increasing Māori participation, both as candidates and voters. Graphic: LDR

Unlike a large portion of candidates nationally, none of the Western Bay candidate mentioned Te Tiriti O Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi).

Nationally, honouring Te Tiriti and the promise of partnership or pātuitanga was one of the main reasons for supporting Māori Wards.

The most definitive reason in support, comes from current deputy mayor John Scrimgeour: 'There would definitely be an increased interest and participation from voters registered on the Māori Roll and as a consequence more candidates of Māori descent.”

Don Thwaites and Rodney Joyce say they are working at a regional council and central government level so support them at a local level.

Current Kaimai Ward councillor Thwaites says: 'A huge amount of those identifying as Māori are enrolled on the general roll and take an active part in nationwide and local politics.

'The absolute key is that each voter has one vote, and each ward established, is proportional to numbers enrolled.”

Joyce's reason is: 'It is likely the government will mandate these everywhere so we need to stop fighting an unwinnable fight.

'Both parliament and regional council have Māori seats and the world has not fallen apart. WBOP has a good record of Māori councillors but less so in terms of local iwi representation,” says the Katikati business owner.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is the first local authority to establish Māori Wards back in 2004.

Current Katikati-Waihī Beach Ward councillor James Denyer responded yes, but also wants to consider 'other solutions” alongside the representation review.

'It would be important for me to hear the views of the community and iwi/Māori to understand their preferred solutions.”

Hori BOP Leaming agrees they are effective, but did not provide a reason why.

Maketu local Paul Haimona (Ngati Whakaue, Ngāti Makino, Ngati Pikiao) says no and his reason is: 'If they were effective, we would not be asking this question”.

The other Western Bay candidate to answer no is Te Puke business man Mark Boyle.

He says: 'We must encourage all eligible voters to exercise their vote in local government elections. 'Māori participation through vote is democratic. Engagement with Māori can be improved through formal iwi, hapu, business and community forums.”

There are eight contenders in the Western Bay mayoral race, with Suaree Borrell not responding to the survey.

It was sent out to all 291 mayoral candidates and garnered 202 responses, representing a 69 per cent response rate.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.