Maori Wards, The Kainga Ora Review and The National Party Congress w The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez March: 22 May, 2024

The coalition government recently introduced legislation aimed at rolling back the establishment of Maori wards in local constituencies, requiring local councils to hold a referendum if they brought in wards without first polling residents or to scrap the wards that they have. 

The Waitangi tribunal consider the legislation to be a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principle prioritising, as they say the crown failed to consult with the tribunal or Maori stakeholders, and that the move will undermine the role of Maori and Iwi in local governments.

For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to the Green party’s Ricardo Menendez March to discuss the Maori Wards rollback. We also had a chat about the recent review of Kainga Ora, as well as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s speech at the national party conference.