To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must be:

• a New Zealand citizen (by birth or citizenship ceremony)
• enrolled as a Parliamentary elector (anywhere in New Zealand)
• nominated by two electors whose names appear on the electoral roll within the respective area that a candidate is standing for (both nominators have to be on the Māori roll in the relevant Māori ward area). As such, candidates in Māori Wards do not have to be of Māori descent.

Candidates cannot stand for General and Māori Wards at the same time.

Electors on the Māori electoral roll can vote for candidates standing for Māori ward seats.

If you are on the General Electoral Roll - you will vote in the Te Aroha, Matamata or Morrinsville Wards in 2025. 

If you are on the Māori Electoral Roll - you will vote for the Māori Ward candidate/s instead of voting in the Te Aroha, Matamata or Morrinsville Ward. Everyone will still also vote for the Mayor. The Māori Ward Councillor/s will be represented from across the whole district. Whoever is elected will represent all Māori in the district at the Council table.

Switching Rolls - for information on switching rolls please visit Māori Electoral Option | Vote NZ.

No. A Māori ward candidate does not need to be on the Māori electoral roll or of Māori descent. They just need to be nominated by two people currently on the Māori electoral roll.

Under Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the Local Government Act and other legislation, councils are required to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to decision-making processes, as well as other obligations. This is in recognition of Māori as tangata whenua (indigenous people) of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Crown’s partner in Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi.

People of all ethnicities (and ages, and genders, and religions) are eligible to stand for Council in the other wards. In fact, we encourage this as we’d love to see greater diversity around the Council table.

Te Manawhenua Forum is Council’s Iwi Consultative Committee.

Te Manawhenua Forum members are nominated directly by Iwi and Mana Whenua. They are not elected by voters.

There is a Te Manawhenua Forum representative on the Audit & Risk Committee and some Council working parties.

The Forum provides advice to Council but does not sit as members of Council when decisions are made.

On the other hand, candidates elected to a Māori ward seat represent electors on the Māori  roll, may act independently of iwi, mana whenua, and are obligated to represent the interests of all Matamata-Piako residents, not only Māori residents. They will act in the same way as all other Councillors, by having a seat on Council and any relevant Committees and being able to vote on issues.

The Local Government Act (LGA) and other legislation is how central government requires councils to recognise and respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi obligations. This means local government acknowledges the unique perspective of Māori on decisions that relate to people, land, assets, and resources.

Specifically, the LGA requires councils to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making process and consider ways to enhance Māori capacity to contribute to decision-making.

The Local Electoral Act requires councils to enable fair and effective representation for individuals and communities. It is up to each council to choose the most appropriate and effective form of Māori representation for their population - taking into account the needs and preferences of their Māori partners and the wider community.

Part of our vision is to support the cultural wellbeing of our District; to support this we have specifically identified that:

• We promote and protect our arts, culture, historic, and natural resources.
• We value and encourage strong relationships with Iwi and other cultures, recognising wāhi tapu and taonga/significant and treasured sites and whakapapa/ ancestral heritage.
• Tangata Whenua with Mana whenua status (those with authority over the land under Māori lore) will have meaningful involvement in decision making.

Our current focus in trying to achieve these outcomes we are working on improving our relationships with Iwi. As part of this work, Council has built in ongoing funding for an Iwi Liaison role (first funded in 2020/21) and has increased operating funding for working with our governance group Te Manawhenua Forum mo Matamata-Piako.

Te Manawhenua Forum mo Matamata-Piako - Te Manawhenua Forum mo Matamata-Piako (Forum) is a standing committee of Council that has been developed under a Heads of Agreement with the Forum. The purpose of the Forum is to facilitate Mana whenua contribution to our decision making.

Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)

We are currently undertaking a rolling review of the District Plan. As part of this we are working with Iwi to review the Papakainga provisions.

The RMA also provides for the development of Mana Whakahono a Rohe. The purpose of a Mana Whakahono a Rohe is to provide a mechanism for councils and Iwi to come to agreement on ways Tangata Whenua may participate in RMA decision-making, and to assist councils with their statutory obligations to Tangata Whenua under the RMA. Council expects these agreements to be developed in the near future.

Treaty of Waitangi settlements

Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements have been a significant feature of New Zealand race relations and politics since 1975. Over the last 30 years New Zealand governments have provided formal, legal and political opportunities for Māori to seek redress for breaches by the Crown of the guarantees set out in the Treaty of Waitangi.

Iwi in and around the Matamata-Piako District are currently negotiating with the Crown and are at various stages of settling Treaty of Waitangi claims. While these agreements are between the Crown and Iwi, we will be affected by the outcome of these settlements, particularly where Iwi are seeking co-governance of natural resources.

Hauraki Treaty of Waitangi Settlements

In 2009, the 12 Iwi of Hauraki formed the Pare Hauraki Collective for the purpose of negotiating a Treaty settlement. The 12 iwi are Ngāti Hako, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Hei, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Tara Tokanui, Ngāti Whanaunga and Te Patukirikiri. The areas of interest of the Iwi of Hauraki extend from the Mahurangi coast in the north to the western Bay of Plenty and include the islands of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana. On 1 October 2010, the Crown and the Pare Hauraki Collective signed a Framework Agreement which outlined the process for ongoing negotiations towards settlement of shared claims and included the potential elements of a collective settlement.

On 22 July 2011, the Iwi of Hauraki all signed Iwi-specific Agreement in Principle Equivalents which expanded upon the framework agreement and included iwi specific offers to negotiate further redress. On 22 December 2016, the Crown and the Pare Hauraki Collective initialled the Pare Hauraki Collective Redress Deed (the Deed). The Deed has been ratified by the members of the Iwi of Hauraki. The Deed includes both cultural redress and commercial redress. It does not include financial redress, which each of the 12 Iwi of Hauraki will receive through their Iwi-specific settlements. The full and final settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of the Iwi of Hauraki will be made through Iwi-specific settlements.

Ngāti Hauā Treaty of Waitangi Settlement

Council was engaged in the Ngāti Hauā Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations. The Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Act 2014 was passed in to law in December 2014. The Act gives effect to the deed of settlement signed on 18 July 2013 in which the Crown and Ngāti Hauā agreed to the final settlement of the non-raupata historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. The settlement package includes recognition of breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, cultural and spiritual redress in the return of significant sites and financial redress. One site of significance to Ngāti Hauā is the Waharoa (Matamata) Aerodrome. As part of settlement, the Council, the Crown and Ngāti Hauā agreed that a co-governance committee called the Waharoa (Matamata) Aerodrome Committee comprising of Ngāti Hauā and Council representatives (the Committee) would be established for the Waharoa Aerodrome.

The Committee was created in 2015 by legislation under the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Act 2014. The Committee comprises of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, one Council appointed member and three members appointed by the Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust Board trustees. The functions of the Committee, as set out in the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Act 2014 are to:

• Make recommendations to Council in relation to any aspect of the administration of Waharoa Aerodrome land,
• Make final decisions on access and parking arrangements for the Raungaiti Marae land that affects the Waharoa Aerodrome,
• Perform the functions of the administering body under section 41 of the Reserves Act 1977 in relation to any review of the reserve management plan that has been authorised by Council,
• Perform any other function delegated to the committee by Council.

Council has incorporated the statutory acknowledgements, as they relate to the District in Appendix 10 of the Matamata-Piako Operative District Plan. More information on the statutory acknowledgements for Ngāti Hauā can be found in the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Act 2014 (www.legislation. govt.nz).

Ngāti Hinerangi Treaty of Waitangi Settlement

Ngāti Hinerangi are an Iwi based in Matamata with an area of interest extending from the eastern Waikato to Tauranga including part of the Kaimai Range. In 2014, the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngāti Hinerangi Trust to represent Ngāti Hinerangi in negotiating a comprehensive historical Treaty settlement. The Crown signed Terms of Negotiation with the Ngāti Hinerangi Trust in February 2014.

In December 2015, the Crown and Ngāti Hinerangi signed an agreement in principle which formed the basis for this settlement. On 14 December 2018, Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown initialled a Deed of Settlement. On 4 May 2019, Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown signed a Deed of Settlement. On 21 July 2020 the Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill had its second reading. The settlement will be implemented following the passage of settlement legislation in 2021.

Raukawa Treaty of Waitangi Settlement

The Crown has settled the claims of the Raukawa Iwi with legislation to give effect to the deed of settlement signed on 2 June 2012 in which the Crown and Raukawa agreed to the final settlement of the historical claims of Raukawa. The Raukawa Claims Settlement Act 2014 passed into law in March 2014. There were no specific arrangements between Council and Raukawa, such as those in the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Act 2014. As with other settlement processes, Raukawa may now be in a position to consider developing documents such as Iwi Management Plans for the areas of their rohe (ancestral lands) that fall within the Matamata- Piako District. Raukawa have also released Te Rautaki Taiao a Raukawa (Raukawa Environmental Management Plan) 2015. Council has been required to include statutory acknowledgements of the Crown in its District Plan.

The purpose of the statutory acknowledgement is to:

• Require relevant consent authorities including Council, the Environment Court and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to have regard to the statutory acknowledgement
• Require relevant consent authorities to record the statutory acknowledgement on statutory plans that relate to the statutory areas. Also for a period of 20 years from the effective date
• To provide the trustees with summaries of resource consent applications or copies of notices of applications for activities within, adjacent to or directly affecting the areas listed below Enable the trustees and any member of Raukawa to cite the statutory acknowledgment as evidence of the association of Raukawa with a statutory area

• The statutory acknowledgements for Raukawa in the Matamata-Piako District cover:
• Part of the Kaimai-Mamaku Conservation Park
• The Okauia and Taihoa geothermal fields
• Parts of the Waihou River and its tributaries
• Part of Lake Karapiro

More information on the statutory acknowledgements for Raukawa can be found in the Raukawa Claims Settlement Act 2014 (legislation.govt.nz) and Appendix 10 of the Matamata- Piako Operative District Plan (mpdc.govt.nz).

None. The level of Māori representation on Council since 1989 has been disproportionate to Matamata-Piako Māori population.

Yes. A Māori Ward Councillor, like every other Councillor, has just one vote around the Council table. 

For Matamata-Piako District Council, based on the calculation in the Local Electoral Act 2001, there could only be one Māori ward, with one member if we have less than 14 Councillors in total (we currently have 11).

If there are 14 or more Councillors to be elected, then two Māori ward Councillors would be possible. This is based on the calculation set out in the Local Electoral Act 2001.

The Mayor is elected 'at large' by all electors (eligible voters). This means all electors from General and Māori wards vote for the Mayor.