Local mana whenua in Ahuriri are welcoming the appointment of two Māori directors at Napier City Council, after failures to build trust and confidence.
Napier City Council. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Napier City Council formally welcomed two new Kaiwhakahaere Hononga Māori, or Māori partnership managers, to its staff yesterday at Pukemokimoki Marae.
They are Beverley Kemp-Harmer and Hilary Prentice.
Kemp-Harmer previously led Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa for Hawke's Bay. The council said she was well known locally and is a kaikaranga (matriarch) within the community.
Prentice meanwhile had extensive knowledge of governmental processes, strategy and was also well known throughout Hawke's Bay, the council said.
The two new positions will form part of the council's new internal directorate known as Te Waka Rangapū (The Waka of Relationship, bringing all communities together).
The directorate was formed in January 2020 and had only one staff member (director of Māori Partnerships Morehu Te Tomo) until these new appointments.
Earlier this year, the council unanimously voted to not add Māori wards for next year's election citing a lack of time to consult. This prompted a protest in the city's streets.
Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotū, the iwi authority in Napier, said the council needed all the help it could get to build relationships with mana whenua.
"Unfortunately the council has failed to build trust and confidence with mana whenua especially with the lack of consultation around Māori wards and the mayor's propensity to blame everyone else except herself and councillors for dropping the ball," chief executive Tania Eden said.
"Most council staff work extremely hard and we look forward to a change in culture and a more inclusive council.
"Local Government and RMA reforms are signalling major changes and responsibilities to work in partnership with mana whenua or become irrelevant."
The council has recently begun talking to the community about Māori wards and will make a decision on whether or not to add them in November. This will not give it time to add them in time for next year's local body elections.
Council chief executive Dr Steph Rotarangi said the council recognised Māori wards were "not the only opportunity we have to increase Māori participation in decision-making".