Large Maori participation needed for council reform

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Ruapehu mayoral candidate Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase is calling on Whānau Maori to register for local elections in October.

Ruapehu mayoral candidate Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase is calling on Whānau Maori to register for local elections in October.

The Taumarunui native says she was inspired to run for the top job after attending Te Paati Māori’s Matike Mai conference last month after campaigning for the Maori wards of Ruapehu and Rangitikei Regional Council.

She says that for any Maori to succeed, Maori must turn out in force in the polls.

“So I encourage all of you, wherever you are, to encourage your whānau to come out because this is real change, this is transformational change, our people have been working on this for decades and Maori neighborhoods are the first step towards change so that we improve our society and our nation,” says Ms. Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase.

She says many Maori skip local elections because in the past councils have been seen as run by pākeha with little interest in advancing Maori results.