Māori Ward Councillor “Hopeful” For Future Relationship Between Council and Māori

Six months into the job, Tai Runga Takiwaa Māori Ward Councillor Tilly Turner is feeling “hopeful” about the new Māori ward space and has been busy establishing meaningful relationships between the council and the Māori constituency.

“It’s been really busy; attending every induction, every workshop, every meeting, to get my head around how the council works, and it’s been a bit of a minefield but I’m getting there,” said Tilly on her last few months in the position.

One of her priorities has been to see if council can change the mana whenua engagement process. In previous years, the engagement process has led to incidents where Māori have not felt included - leading to conflicts arising around decisions being made. 

(Listen to the full interview below:)

While engagement with council can happen at the Iwi, hapu and marae levels, there is currently no main process that is followed. Tilly has suggested to the mayor that the council follow the structure of the Whakakitenga process - a governance structure employed by Tainui.

Tilly was concerned that the current process wasn’t taking into account the voices that were on the ground, ‘at the marae level,’ and that this could lead to problems in the future.

Using the structure of the Whakakitenga, Tilly says that each marae can choose their representative and give the representative who will have a mandate to speak on behalf of the marae. The chosen representative will have the responsibility to get the messages out to the marae.

She uses the example of property developers and street names where local marae would be the right point of contact for engagement with mana whenua.

“You’re talking to the right people in this place -  if you go from the marae base that knows the area - I think that would tidy up the process and make it a lot simpler and then we get true engagement for what the marae wants,” said Tilly.

She says that councils have not previously had great engagement at marae level and that this history has caused distrust between Māori and council. Mitigating this distrust would be a core part of her work. While recognising the challenges of repairing the relationship, Tilly hopes that Māori in the district can see what the Māori Ward seats are trying to achieve.

“I’m going to wait for the maraes to get on board, to think about it, get their heads around that space - to see what Paaniora (Tai Raro Takiwaa Maaori Ward Councillor) and I are trying to do. I can see it can work but we need our people to be open to engaging,” said Tilly.

Having been in the fold for a few months now, Tilly can see that the council are open and ready to change their process but that the older generation of Māori may have reservations based on historical trauma, while the younger generations can see this as an opportunity for the future.

“We will get there eventually - it’s just going to take a bit of time. I know that the council wants us to do it today or yesterday but it has to happen the way the marae wants it to happen.”

Tilly says it’s important for marae to come to the table on their own terms for a true relationship to be established between them and the council. Acting as an interface between the Māori and bureaucratic cultures, she hopes that having the Māori ward councillors will help with communication and will be a step towards healing the relationship. 

Traditionally there has been a line drawn in the sand separating governance and management roles at council but Tilly says that, having spoken to the CEO, the council recognise the importance of having Māori Ward Councillors work alongside management staff to build trust moving forward.

“The first steps are the best steps. You have to take them properly for them to be enduring. Sometimes if you rush things you can overlook something simple that can affect the future relationship.”

With 37 marae in her ward - not including those unlisted on the Whakakitenga - it will be important to identify the representatives that can speak on behalf of marae in that area. In turn, the council will have better engagement at a local level and get a better understanding of issues affecting that particular marae, in regards to consents, for example.

Looking ahead Tilly says that Māori land ownership issues are a topic she hopes to see addressed during her term.

“If you own Māori land, the rates are different and you are treated differently. Those topical issues - I’m guessing we’ll get all those things on the table before the end of the triennium,” said Tilly

Having only been interested in joining council since the creation of the Māori seats, Tilly is seeing a lot of similarities between the council democratic process and what happens on the marae - where issues are discussed collectively until consensus is achieved.

 

“I’ve come to realise that Māori are very political in our movement and our tikanga. If there’s a debate we do it on the marae and walk away when everyone is happy with where it’s landed. Same at the council table. We discuss things and we can change our opinion once we hear others' viewpoints -  but it’s for the betterment of the community - and that’s exactly how we are as Māori.”

 

Tilly admits that it has been a challenge getting her head around the mechanics of council operations and how the different departments interrelate but that it’s all part of the learning process to become an effective councillor.

For her, it’s about being as informative as possible by understanding the Māori contingent in each ward and the long-term growth aspirations of the communities.

“It’s a brand new space and I’m hopeful and I believe my people want this to happen; for our people to engage like every other member that pays rates but through the marae forum.”