Tairawhiti support for the establishment of Māori Wards

Whanau and friends of Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa/Gisborne invite you to sign this petition to show you care about meaningful and effective Māori/Pākehā partnership in local government in Aotearoa.

Recently the GDC voted unanimously to establish Māori wards.

http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/local-news/20201124/maori-wards/

Historically Māori have not had fair representation at the decision-making table. We now have an opportunity to have equitable Māori representation at a local government level. However, there is a racist clause in legislation. If 5% of registered voters decide they don't want Māori wards, the GDC will be forced into a referendum which will cost our community thousands and will impact the mana of our community.

While those against this are gathering momentum to block the establishment of the Ward we can counter the spread of racist ideology through the aroha in this petition.

We are a small group of Pakeha, everyday citizens who want to provide support to our Treaty partners and encourage others to do the same. We acknowledge the hard mahi of Tangata Whenua and locals who have been fighting for the establishment of Māori wards. We hope this petition can tautoko te mahi and let you know we are with you.

Please sign this petition to show the GDC and councils nationwide that we support the establishment of a Māori Ward and value on-going work of building relationships with our Māori community!