Should two of the 13 WDC council seats be reserved for Maori only?

That was a question debated by council last week. A motion put by Mayor Mai that Maori wards be established was defeated when put to the vote at last week's council meeting. An alternative motion put by Cr Christie that,  "Council takes no further action on the establishment of a Maori ward(s)" was carried 8 votes to 4. Those in favour of the status quo were: Crs Christie, Halse, Deeming, Bell, Cocurullo, Glen, Cutforth, and Martin.

Against were: Mayor Mai, Crs Murphy, Morgan, and Hermon. Cr Innes abstained.

The vote was the second stage in a three-stage review of the way local councillors are elected. The next and final stage is defining the wards. This usually involves shifting the ward boundaries to accommodate population changes. The timetable for that review is between 1 March – 31 August 2018.