M ÄO R I R E P R E S E N TAT I O N I N L O CAL GO VE R N M E N T Environment Bay of Plenty: how the system works Te Kaunihera ä-Rohe o te Waiariki: pëhea te whakamahi i te tätaitanga The Mäori constituencies The Mäori constituencies were established by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Mäori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001. The Act (Part 1, s.6) prescribes the formula for calculating the number of Mäori members of the council as follows: mepr mmm= x nm mepr + gepr where mmm is the number of Mäori constituency members, mepr is the Mäori electoral population of the region, gepr is the general electoral population of the region and nm is the proposed number of members of the council. If the number of Mäori constituency members so calculated includes a fraction, the fraction is disregarded unless it exceeds a half. The number of general constituency members is determined by subtracting from the proposed number of members of the council the number of Mäori constituency members. By this means, the democratic principle of one person, one vote is preserved across the Mäori and general constituencies. The Act (Part 1, s.6) further requires that in setting the boundaries for Mäori constituencies, regard must be taken to: (a) the need for the ratio of members to population in each Mäori constituency to be similar (if more than one Mäori constituency for the region is proposed) (b) the boundaries of any existing Mäori electoral district (c) communities of interest and tribal affiliations. Based on the number of voters on the Mäori electoral roll in the Bay of Plenty region, there are three Mäori constituencies – Mauao in the western Bay of Plenty; Kohi, in the eastern Bay of Plenty; and Okurei, in the central/south Bay of Plenty (Environment Bay of Plenty (e), nd). The constituencies all fall within the Waiariki Mäori electoral district and broadly match different tribal areas. They also largely coincide with local government boundaries – Mauao includes the Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council areas, Okurei the Rotorua District Council, and Kohi the Whakatane, Opotiki and Kawerau District Councils. Each constituency elects one Mäori councillor. There are four general constituencies – Tauranga (which elects four councillors), and Rotorua, Western Bay of Plenty and Eastern Bay of Plenty (which elect two councillors each). The total number of councillors is 13 – three Mäori and 10 general (Environment Bay of Plenty (a), nd). There have been two local government elections using this system – in 2004 and 2007 – and the next election is due in October this year. Current Mäori councillors are Raewyn Bennett (Mauao, elected unopposed), Tipene Marr (Kohi) and Tai Eru (Okurei). Tai Eru, previously both a general and a Mäori constituency councillor at different times, was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the tragic death of elected councillor Hawea Vercoe in 2009. In the 2007 election, votes received by successful candidates averaged around 13,000 in Tauranga, 7500 in Rotorua, 5000 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, 3000 in the Western Bay of Plenty and 1500 in the two Mäori constituencies that were contested (Environment Bay of Plenty, 2007). While the number of votes for the two Mäori candidates were lower than for other councillors, this is partly due to the fact that each Mäori constituency only has one councillor. 9