MEDIA RELEASE

29 October 2014

Provisional Results for Waikato-Tainui Vote

The referendum to identify a preferred Governance and Representation structure for Waikato-Tainui has returned a provisional result overwhelmingly in favour of the Marae model.

Voting closed today (29 October 2014) at midday and final confirmed results will be known on Monday 3 November 2014. However, early results show that 72.61 percent of members who voted prefer the Marae model over the Status Quo Plus model.

In accordance with the tribe’s governing rules, a final decision on a new model will be made by its representative body, Te Kauhanganui, on 23 November 2014.

Waikato-Tainui Governance and Representation Review co-chair Nanaia Mahuta said the Marae model was a step change from the current model and its selection indicated members want change.

“It remains evident that the tribe wants to continue to collectivise the benefit of its Treaty Settlements which is pleasing to see,” said Ms Mahuta.

“People want the type of change that will deliver greater transparency and accountability for decisions, and a structure that will realize our vision for social, cultural, environment and economic success.

“Ultimately Te Kauhanganui will make the final determination about a new model and we anticipate that there is a genuine desire for that decision to be grounded in feedback from this referendum,” she said.

Provisional results indicated that over 5,000 or nearly 10 percent of the tribe’s approximately 55,000 iwi members named on the tribal register voted. Ms Mahuta acknowledged those members who did participate and recognised that the low voter turnout is typical for Maori voting – in general or tribal elections/referendums.

“It is evident that in order to remain relevant to the aspirations across the tribe we have work to do to increase participation in the decision-making process. We can continue to improve our engagement with tribal members at both the individual and whaanau levels,” she said.

An implementation plan will commence following the Te Kauhanganui decision on 23 November 2014, leading to the tribal triennial elections on February 2015. The new structure will begin following those elections.

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