Wellington councils apply to keep mana whenua votes on Tiaki Wai committee

Councils in the Wellington region are applying to the Government to exempt water authority Tiaki Wai's oversight committee from a ban on its iwi representatives having full voting rights on council committees.

The removal of iwi representative votes on the "partners" committee could also effectively hand Wellington City Council a veto on major resolutions from other shareholding councils.

The committee of eight is made up of elected officials from Tiaki Wai's five shareholding councils – Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City, Porirua, Upper Hutt, and Hutt City – and two mana whenua representatives: Helmut Modlik of Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Amelia Vinnell of Taranaki Whānui. Dame Kerry Prendergast is the committee's independent chairperson, but has no vote.

The Porirua and Hutt City councils passed resolutions last Thursday and Monday, approving the preparation and lodging of an application to exempt the committee from the Government's directive to axe voting rights for non-elected representatives on councils.

The Upper Hutt and Wellington City councils will decide whether to follow suit at respective extraordinary council meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. Greater Wellington Regional Council will decide on the issue next week.

There are 10 votes on the partners committee. Wellington City Council holds three votes, Hutt City Council has two, and Porirua, Upper Hutt, Greater Wellington, and the two iwi representatives hold one vote each. Any special resolution requires a two-thirds majority representing a majority of councils and iwi representatives.

Without the iwi representative votes, Wellington City Council's three votes would give it enough power to block any resolution supported by the other councils.

The Government said in June that voting rights for non-elected representatives on council committees, such as mana whenua and young people, lacked "democratic accountability".

In a letter sent to mayors and regional council chairpersons nationwide in September, Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the changes would start on March 18, 2027, and encouraged councils to apply for exemptions by November 18.

However, he expected exemptions would be rare.

"The Government's policy is that non-elected members should generally be non-voting. Councils seeking an exception will, therefore, need to demonstrate a clear and specific justification that supports the statutory test that the exception is necessary or desirable."

Lower Hutt councillor Simon Edwards, who represents Hutt City Council on the oversight committee, said he had no issue with iwi representatives in a practical sense because they brought valuable perspectives.

"Their input is helping the rest of those on the partners committee in a very real way to get what is in the interest of all ratepayers, to try and keep costs down and to make progress on dealing with the infrastructure backlog."

Christchurch City Council is also applying for exemptions for four of its committees, including its audit and risk committee and one overseeing the regeneration of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor.