Māori constituencies for regional council

Māori constituencies are specific electoral areas designed to provide for Māori representation on regional councils in New Zealand. These constituencies are like Māori electorates in the national parliament and are intended to provide specific democratic representation for Māori.

Only people on the Māori electoral roll can vote for candidates standing in the Māori constituencies. Māori constituencies exist alongside general constituencies, covering the same geographic areas.

Northland Regional Council has had a Māori constituency (Te Raki Māori) with two councillor representatives since the 2022 elections.

The Te Raki Māori constituency was introduced to better reflect the make-up of our communities and ensure more democratic representation. Despite more than a third of Northlanders being Māori, this diversity was not reflected at the council table. Council introduced Māori seats as a way to provide for Māori representation in decision-making processes.

After several workshops, and having heard from many people representing different viewpoints on the debate, Council voted in favour of establishing Māori seats.

The establishment of Māori constituencies has been considered over many years by both Central and Local Government.

Below is a timeline showing key milestones in the establishment of Māori constituencies:

• 2001: the Local Electoral Act allows councils to establish Māori constituencies subject to a condition that five per cent of the enrolled population can demand a poll to be held to determine the status of the Māori constituencies (‘poll provisions’).
• October 2020: Northland Regional Council votes to establish Māori constituencies for the next local government elections.
• February 2021: The New Zealand government removes the ‘poll provision’ from electoral legislation.
• Late 2021: Northland Regional Council carries out a representation review, informed by public consultation. This results in the establishment of a Māori constituency (Te Raki Māori) with two councillor representatives for the 2022 regional council elections.
• October 2022: Māori constituency councillors were elected to Northland Regional Council for the first time.
• July 2024: The New Zealand government reinstates the requirement for councils to hold a poll before establishing Māori constituencies. This legislative change means that councils with existing Māori constituencies, like Northland Regional Council must decide whether to disestablish these constituencies, or have the voters decide whether to retain or remove them during the 2025 local elections.
• August 2024: Northland Regional Council votes to retain the Māori constituency. This means it must hold a binding poll on whether to retain the Māori wards in conjunction with the 2025 local government election.

• Standing for election: Any eligible person can stand in either Māori or general constituencies. Candidates do not need to be of Māori descent or on the Māori electoral roll to stand in a Māori constituency, but they must be New Zealand citizens, parliamentary electors, and nominated by two electors from the ward/constituency they are standing in.
• Voting: Only those on the Māori electoral roll can vote for candidates standing in Māori constituencies. Similarly, those on the general roll can only vote for candidates standing in general wards.

Yes. Voters in Māori constituencies receive the same number of votes as those in general constituencies. In fact, there’s a statutory formula for determining the number of Māori constituency seats. It is based on the total number of councillor positions available, and the proportion of those on the Māori roll compared to the general roll, per council area.  It is this provision that ensures that a vote in a Māori constituency has broadly the same weight as a vote in any other ward. 

Not in terms of what they get paid – it doesn’t change the total pool of money allocated for paying council’s elected representatives. If the number of councillors goes up, each councillor will be paid less.

No. Māori constituency councillors will sign the same oath as other councillors; at the decision table they will represent and make decisions for the good of all Northlanders, not just Māori.