Te Kuaka Committee appointments confirmed by council

Far North District Council will proceed with the appointment of 10 external hapū and iwi members to its Te Kuaka Committee for Māori Strategic Relationships, following a robust discussion during today’s Extraordinary Council Meeting.

The decision confirmed that two representatives from Te Kahu o Taonui, Northland's iwi chairs forum would be appointed to the committee, with another eight to be appointed from iwi and hapū that have an existing memorandums of understanding with the council.

Mane Tahere and Wallace Rivers were confirmed to represent Te Kahu o Taonui at the meeting. The remaining eight representatives will be named if and when iwi and hapū wish to appoint representatives.

The extraordinary meeting was highly anticipated following a controversial podcast which was highly critical of the appointments.

More than 100 people gathered outside the council’s Kaikohe headquarters today ahead of the meeting and the public gallery was filled to capacity. Most who attended were in support of the committee and the appointments, although some in the gallery opposed the proposal.

Te Kuaka Committee for Māori Strategic Relationships was established to provide Te Tiriti based leadership and partnership between the council and iwi and hapū across Te Tai Tokerau. Its effectiveness relies on the direct participation of iwi and hapū leadership.

The motion to confirm the appointments was robustly debated with some elected members reminded that the existence of the committee itself was not open for debate. At the conclusion of discussions, nine councillors voted in favour of the motion to appoint external, non-elected representatives, with one against and one abstention.

You can view the entire meeting online on the council’s YouTube channel or on its Facebook page.

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Image: Public and news media filled Council Chambers to capacity.