In October 2025, local body elections across Aotearoa included a poll on whether Māori Wards in Councils should be retained. Māori Wards sit alongside General Wards and allow voters on the Māori roll to elect a representative to their local council.
It is well established that Māori Wards lead to better decision making which benefits all in our communities. Waikato District Council (WDC) has two Māori Wards.
Across Aotearoa, poll results saw 17 councils keep their Māori wards, and 25 councils lose them. Unfortunately, WDC did not retain their Māori Wards. This means that from 2028, the two WDC Māori Wards will no longer exist.
Although a very disappointing outcome, there are pockets of hope. When looking at how people from Aotearoa voted as a whole, there were more people who voted to keep Māori Wards (52%) than those who voted to remove them (48%). Research from social justice advocacy group Action Station shows major shifts in support for Māori Wards over the past decade: people are changing their views on the role of Te Tiriti and te ao Māori on local councils.
The Whāingaroa community also stands out as a beacon of hope. WDC data shows that the Whāingaroa Raglan Ward was the only Ward in the entire WDC area (aside from the existing Māori Wards) to have voted ‘Yes’ to Māori Wards. And they did so by a significant majority.
So, what was happening in Whāingaroa?
Without a doubt, a key part of voting patterns in Whāingaroa was the flax-roots ‘Keep Our Māori Wards’ campaign. Motivated by a desire to strongly oppose government attacks on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and local decision-making, on Saturday August 23rd long-time locals Tony and Linda Mayow took to the grass median strip in the main street.
Armed with badges and signs provided by Taurikura NZ and the Len Reynolds Trust, Tony and Linda spent an afternoon sharing information and advocating for the retention of Māori Wards.
