Māori Wards 101

By Taipari Taua (Muriwhenua, Ngāpuhi)

What are Māori Wards?

Māori Wards were established to provide a guaranteed Māori voice at the Council table—much like Māori electorates in the general election. They have the same responsibilities as other counsellors to represent their community.

Why are they important?

Māori wards are important as they ensure our voices are heard meaningfully and to increase Māori participation. They are also an important step in honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi by having Māori participate in governance and protection over their lands and taonga.

How does voting work?

If you’re enrolled you’ll get your voting papers in the mail and you’ll need to fill them in and then post them using any NZ Post or DX Mail post box, or drop them in one of the orange voting bins—keep an eye out for the ones around campus! You’ll need to do this by the 7th of October if you do it by post, or by noon on the 11th of October via the orange voting bins.

You’ll be voting for the Mayor, your local ward councillor (just the one Māori seat if you’re on the Māori roll), and for councillors on the Regional Council. Put a ‘1’ next to your favourite candidate, ‘2’ next to your second favourite, and so on. You’ll also be asked to vote for whether you want to keep or remove our Māori Ward. If you want to ensure your Māori voice is heard, vote to keep the Māori ward!

Who are your Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Māori Ward Candidates?

Candidate Backgrounds & Experience with Council

Te Paea Paringatai (Waikato, Ngāti Porou) is running independently for the Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Māori Ward seat. She’s had extensive leadership roles in the tertiary, public, and not-for-profit sectors, including a Masters in Business Administration with distinction, and is the 2025–2027 President-Elect of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) as well as a current member of the IFLA Governing Board. Her background is in libraries, archive management, organisational and workforce development in local government for 19 years—this includes working closely with councilors, iwi, and hapū. “My forte is taonga tuku iho—looking after our taonga, listening to the kōrero of kaumātua, and using that to ensure that we are achieving their aspirations and things like that. I’m good at strategy and planning, and I have delivered projects on time, on and sometimes under budget, because I know where to make the cuts and where to make the hard decisions.” She grew up around the city, as well as by the feet of her grandparents. She wants to run for the seat because she’s filled her kete, and wants to contribute to her community. “I do try and do, you know, I put 150% into what I do, always have.”

Tory Whānau (Pakakohi, Ngā Ruahine, Ngāti Takou) is currently the Mayor of Wellington City, and is the city's first Māori mayor, elected in 2022. She is endorsed by the Green Party and was their Chief of Staff from 2017-2021. She has gained substantial council and governance experience in her time as Mayor and is proud of what she has achieved thus far in her term. “I know what our Ten Year Vision is here, and to be able to take that experience and just focus on Tāngata Whenua is really wonderful. I already know where the council is heading, and I can help continue that mahi.” The 10 Year Vision outlines the city’s long-term priorities in infrastructure, climate response, housing, and cultural development. This has been the first real term that the council has worked with Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira and she says that working with pou iwi has been the highlight of her term. She grew up in Porirua and is a Te Herenga Waka alumni, graduating with a BA in Media Studies.

According to the Policy.nz website, her priorities are to:

1. Honour Te Tiriti with the retention of Tākai Here (Partnership agreement between mana whenua and the Council) and Pouiwi to ensure iwi partnership.

2. Increase engagement amongst Māori in our democratic process and the Long Term Plan.

3. Increase visibility and delivery of Tūpiki Ora Māori Strategy.

Matthew Reweti (Te Ātiawa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Ruanui) is the Deputy Chair of the Pipitea Marae Trust and has a background in marketing, communications, and funding. He is Labour’s candidate for the seat. “My skills are in community, governance, business and management. I've lived here all my life and I've raised my tamariki here. My whakapapa runs through this city and we are Māori.” He’s also a Te Herenga Waka alumni, graduating with a BA in Anthropology and Geography. In his Policy.nz statement he says, “My career spans health, education, te taiao and social services. I have worked for our people through hardship and hope. I continue to hold governance positions for Te Ātiawa and with Ngā Hau e Whā Marae. I value listening, building relationships and ensuring all voices are heard. I stand to serve with integrity, accountability, and aroha.”

According to the Policy.nz website, his priorities are to:

1. Create opportunities for pakihi Māori, toi Māori and te reo Māori that will uplift our people.

2. Protect social housing and support measures to make quality housing affordable for our people.

3. Uphold tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake, including keeping Māori representation.

Matthew didn’t get back to us when we reached out for an interview so his views on certain topics are not included. Despite the lack of response, you can find more information about him as well as the other candidates by checking out the candidates page on the Wellington City Council website as well as Policy.nz—the complete guide to the 2025 local elections.

What sets each candidate apart?

Te Paea Paringatai has global experience in delivering on priorities that matter to her communities, with a focus on leaving a legacy of positive decision-making for future generations. “Because I whakapapa and I'm mātāwaka here, I have an in-depth understanding about the kinds of conditions that are needed to enable us to thrive. So it's not just addressing the problems of the day, because sometimes those are distractions for the underlying policy settings that ensure that we are marginalised and continue to be marginalised.” She has experience and a particular skill set that enables her to interrogate the decisions that are made around the table. “I'm very much focused on taonga tuku iho and leaving a legacy of positive decision making for future generations.”

Tory Whanau has developed into a focal, visible leader for Māori as a wahine Māori who is currently fighting strongly against the online violence and harassment against wahine Māori in particular. She is currently working with academics and a lawyer on a case under the harmful Digital Communications Act, which she'll be submitting to the High Court. “[This is] to highlight the scale of the problem so that we can find solutions to reduce harm for our rangatahi Maori and wāhine Maori who want to stand in the future. It is not a safe environment for Māori at the moment, and it wasn't safe for me. I've been lucky in being able to harness that harm and actually turn it into a kaupapa that I want to fight for.”

Tory is not afraid to stand up to bullies. “I'm very protective of other people in my situation, I'm mentoring others so that they feel safer and feel protected … not just Maori, like women of color, in particular, I'm helping guide them.” She brings strength in governance and leadership experience: “I'm a fighter.”

What do they think are the biggest issues that students currently face?

Both Tory and Te Paea brought up cost of living and safety in Wellington as key issues for students.

Te Paea Paringatai talked about cost of living, housing, and safety as significant challenges for students, particularly here in Wellington. “Student-led initiatives and community participatory forums ensure student priorities are addressed and decisions are made that leave a stronger foundation for the future.” 

She brought up the fact that Wellington is well known for its arts and culture and what it offers both our visitors and also the people that live here. “I think that's something to amplify and make better. I think you also have a role inside the city, even though you're renting or you're visiting, or because you might choose to live here one day. And so this needs to be a city that embraces you and says there's a future here” She wants to create the opportunities for that to happen, and then follow through.

“Another way to complement that is to have like online town halls, where you can submit questions and things like regular updates so you know what's going on, so you know what kinds of decisions are being made or initiatives are being considered that potentially impact you, so that you can feed into it and help shape it, sit and refine it. Because that's the beauty of feedback. Feedback is not something that any politician should shy away from. They should welcome it with open arms, because it helps you refine what your current thinking is so you do better.”

She also talked about systemic change that results in more employment—specifically quality employment, stating that she supports quality working conditions and the living wage.

Tory Whanau said, “The city is going through an affordability crisis and job crisis at the moment. So the reduction of up to 10,000 public service jobs gives a real void for our own people, as well as students, getting to form careers here so that they're just straight up leaving,” this, she says, is devastating.

She described the council's economic strategy, focusing on sectors like arts, screen, tech, and gaming to create job opportunities. She also discussed the council's efforts to increase housing, including converting office buildings into affordable rentals and expanding the Te Kainga program. “That means focusing our economic strategy on bringing international film productions here. It's investing in our grassroots level arts so that our arts students can walk into an arts pathway here.” She also said she’d commit an extra $150,000 funding for Māori artists on the Policy.nz website.

“Long term, it's building as many houses as we can this Council under my mayoralty, so we've enabled the 10s of 1000s of new homes under the district plan. We have changed the rules to make building homes easier. We also need to convert more office buildings into Te Kainga to have affordable rental rentals for our students as well, and affordable homes. We can lobby the government for more kainga order homes and more high rises.”

Matthew has pledged to support safe, secure, high-quality jobs with fair and equitable pay and back the Living Wage for every worker. He’ll also support Māori-led housing projects from papakāinga to transitional housing with funding pathways, land partnerships and planning support.

What will the candidates do to continue the process of revitalising Te Reo Māori in the city?

Te Paea Paringatai recognises that It's the first language of this country. She spoke about the need for a restorative approach, as our shared history is pepper potted with trauma. “We must continue to implement restorative practices and approaches that make things right and better going forward.” She emphasised rūmaki reo in places like Te Wānanga o Raukawa, and said that we must be unapologetically inclusive, so that everyone actually can use te reo Maori all day. “It needs to be all day, every day, everywhere.”

“The country is much better off if our bicultural relationship is solid, because that enables a stronger multicultural relationship across the board.” She says this all helps to identify better ways to embed te reo Maori, and even though the council changes and governments of the day change, she wants to ensure that the policy setting is really secure and enduring.

Tory Whanau spoke about the strategy to make Wellington a bilingual city by 2040, increasing te reo Maori classes, and translating names back to Maori. She says this will happen by ensuring that we increase the number of te reo Maori classes in any sort of council organisation, plus having Kura Reo hosted by iwi and having at least quarterly sessions that people can apply for. She’s also prioritised translating names back to Māori names, such as Te Matapihi, Wellington Central Library. 

Tory also shared her personal journey with te reo Māori and her commitment to becoming fluent. “I'm someone who has had a long and complicated journey with te reo myself, and I think as someone with ADHD, I've really struggled. But it'd be amazing to become the Māori Ward councilor and really dedicate a lot of my time to myself going on that journey to becoming fluent. It's going to be a long journey, but it's certainly one I'm committed to.” She’ll ensure key events like Waitangi Day and Matariki are delivered with iwi and Te Mataahonui (the council’s team focussed on strategic outcomes for Māori.) She’d also implement histories and stories held by mana whenua across all council projects. Te Reo Māori is something she'll keep fighting for despite efforts from other councillors who try to disestablish reo efforts.

We also asked candidates about solidarity with Palestine

Te Paea Paringanui stated that she has solidarity with Palestine and people experiencing similar things in the world, “It's so complex, you know. But it's more for them to tell these stories. That's where the power is, and then understanding there. But I'm absolutely in favor of all people thriving and being able to live in peace.” She says it’s important to ask Palestinians what’s important to them, “That is something to commit to and work with, but it needs to be Palestinian led.”

T: Tory intends on taking the lead on the WCC’s support of Palestine as the Māori Ward councilor. She has established a relationship with the Mayor of Ramallah, Issa Kassis, through the Friendly City Agreement. “I know our discussions until this point have been sharing things around indigenous policy, which we can do right away, promoting each other's Indigenous artists.” She shared that there are similarities in the things we care about as indigenous peoples such as art, sharing knowledge around tech for climate action, as well as having a real focus on the betterment of our young people.

“What he [Kassis] appreciated most was me being a vocal advocate and being very strong in my words and labeling it a genocide, and that it goes beyond ceasefire, and that we have labeling it as the eradication of indigenous peoples. I'll be using that platform for indigenous issues, but also important international relations,with indigenous cultures, so that includes Palestine.”

The final message was one that all candidates shared at the Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Māori Ward Candidate Panel at Ngā Mokopuna was to just go out and vote! Exercise your democratic rights!