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 "At both formal reviews, [the council] decided not to use a ward system. Instead, all councillors are elected at large. This, in itself, would not preclude the creation of a Mäori ward, but it would be difficult to achieve this [in the city] where the Mäori population would result in 0.8 councillor. Under the Electoral Act, this would be rounded up to one seat, but we note that territorial authorities within significantly higher proportion of Mäori have not succeeded in introducing Mäori wards." (Nelson City Council) Outcome of representation review – deferred to a later date "A response was received from [local runanga]. They requested the retention of 14 councillors plus a position for tangata whenua to fully reflect the sector. The comment was made in the questionnaire response that the city tries to connect and understand its community of interest but Mäori interest may not best be served by a ward system. They identified that an at-large system may work better for tangata whenua, given the general spread of Mäori across the city ... The council currently has a Mäori participation working party that meets several times a year ... and the review team considers that this issue may be one the working party may wish to address at a later date." (Dunedin City Council) Never considered – low Mäori population in district "The total general population is very small in our district ... and the Mäori proportion of that is one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in the country. There does not appear to have been a call for this to be considered by either the council or the community." (Hurunui District Council) Never considered – Mäori able to stand in general elections "We have one memorandum of understanding with one runanga and one further in development. There has not been any further request from either of these groups to consider the matter. Our view would be that if they seek representation, nominations for council elections are open currently and that avenue is open for all groups in the community." (Waitaki District Council) Issues arising from the survey of local authorities The picture that emerges around the country is therefore very diverse. Differences can be noted in terms of political will, level of engagement with local Mäori groups on the issue, and the meeting of population thresholds under the LEA 2001. The issues from around the country can be summarised as follows: • The option for a binding poll of electors does not provide well for the interests and participation of minorities, and, in this case, an indigenous minority, even in areas with significant Mäori populations. This raises the question of whether a binding majority decision is the most appropriate means of giving effect to enhanced Mäori representation. • Indigenous status is not dependent on numbers. This seems particularly significant for councils in the South Island, many of which have very small Mäori populations. This raises the question of whether numbers (proportion of the population) are an appropriate basis for determining whether a local authority should establish Mäori wards or constituencies. The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, for example, states at Article 18 that "Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters 33