New Zealand’s High Court heard judicial review proceedings filed by northern Māori iwi on Thursday seeking to stay a district council’s decision to disestablish its Indigenous constituency.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua, a body corporate representing the Indigenous applicants, sought an interim injunction on the basis that the Kaipara District Council (KDC) has not fulfilled its obligations under the Local Government Act 2002 to allow the contribution of Māori in decision-making processes.

In an extraordinary meeting Wednesday marked by the gathering of at least 150 protestors, Kaipara District councillors by a vote of six to three carried a motion to end the Māori Ward in its constituency, becoming the first council to do so since the law change last week.

Of particular importance to Ngāti Whātua’s case are sections 81 and 82 of the 2002 act, which set out local authorities’ obligations to Māori and detail the principles of consultation, including providing a reasonable opportunity for affected parties to present their views.

Signed into law on July 30, the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act requires councils that established Māori wards since 2020 without a referendum to hold a binding poll on the wards at the next local government elections in 2025. Alternatively, councils can roll back their decision to establish a Māori ward and avoid a poll entirely — as the Kaipara District Council did yesterday.

Māori wards ensure proportionate Indigenous representation in local government by enabling electors on the Māori role to vote for candidates of Māori descent.

Notably, binding polls are a feature unique to the establishment of Māori wards and do not apply to general wards which comprise the broader electoral population. In numerous instances, referenda have led to the dissolution of Indigenous constituencies, such as in 2018, where five councils had their decisions to establish Māori wards reversed only a year after they were made.