Pōwhiri welcomes ‘new dawn’ for council

A pōwhiri held today (Wednesday 19 October) at Waitangi Treaty Grounds officially welcomed the new mayor, 10 councillors and 19 community board members elected to Far North District Council this month.

Official results for the election were received on Friday 14 October after 10.30pm and confirmed Moko Tepania as the new Far North Mayor by a margin of 443 votes.

Speakers told a crowd of around 400 people attending the pōwhiri that they were witnessing history. Moko Tepania is the first Māori mayor of the Far North, and the youngest mayor ever elected in Northland. It is also the first time that Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward councillors have been elected to council. The four Māori Ward councillors – Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, Tāmati Rākena, Penetaui Kleskovic and Babe Kapa – will represent the whole district.

The Far North population is over 50 per cent Māori and it is the first time that a Māori majority has been elected to council. Speakers at the pōwhiri spoke often of the election marking a ‘new dawn’ and new beginnings uniting Pākehā and Māori for the benefit of all. They also spoke of the need for the community to support the councillors. The importance of voting was also touched on by speakers, who said the election demonstrated the importance of every vote.

The 2022 local election marked another first by using the Single Transferable Voting (STV) proportional voting system.

However, this election also saw a lower turnout with 41.5 per cent of eligible voters casting a vote compared to 47.5 per cent in the 2019 local body election.

A large contingent of school children attended the pōwhiri, including from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe where Mayor Tepania was a teacher for five years.

For full election results including the iteration reports for the STV Voting Statistics visit our website.