Poll to determine future of Māori ward in Thames-Coromandel
Published on 01 October 2025
Ka pōtia te ākengokengo mō te Wāri Māori ki Thames-Coromandel – Te Tara o Te Ika-a-Māui.
Kei ngā kaipōti o te takiwā o Thames-Coromandel te tikanga mō te ākengokengo mō te hanga o te kaunihera – he wāri Māori rānei, kāore rānei.
He mea whakamana te wāri Māori e te Kaunihera i tērā atu tau, ka pērā anō i tērā tau. Kotahi te tūru wāri Māori, ka nohotahi ki te tokoiwa o ngā wāri tukupū. He mea whakahau e te kāwanatanga, mā ngā kaunihera whakatū pepa pōti (referendum) pōtia ai ka tū tonu rānei, ka whakakore rānei i te wāri Māori ā muri ake i tēnei wāhanga pōti.
Hei te pōtitanga tēnei e heke mai nei, ka tāpirihia te pōti “Ka pōti au kia purutia te wāri Māori,” ā, “ka pōti au kia kāwhakina te wāri Māori.”
Ahakoa te aha, ka pōtia kia purutia, ā, kia kāwhakina rānei, ka tū tonu te wāri Māori mō tēnei wāhanga 2025-2028. Ka kai mai te mana o te pōti ā muri ake.
Poll to determine future of Māori ward in Thames-Coromandel - Te Tara o Te Ika-a-Māui
Thames-Coromandel voters have the chance to help shape the future of what their elected Council looks like – with or without a Māori ward.
A binding poll will be held alongside this year’s local elections asking whether Thames-Coromandel’s Te Tara o Te Ika-a-Māui Ward should continue beyond the 2028 election. At its 31 October 2023 meeting, our Council unanimously voted to establish one or more Māori Wards for the 2025 Local Elections. On 3 September 2024, our Council affirmed this decision – confirming one Māori ward councillor to serve alongside nine general ward councillors in this year’s incoming Council.
The Government has since required New Zealand councils to hold the Māori Ward Referendum to determine the future of this role throughout New Zealand councils. Voters will be asked to tick either ‘I vote to keep Māori wards’ or ‘I vote to remove Māori wards’. Māori wards, like Māori seats in Parliament, were established to provide dedicated representation for Māori at a local government level.
Regardless of the poll result, our elected Te Tara o Te Ika-ā-Māori Ward councillor will hold office until the 2028 local election when the poll’s finding comes into effect.