Decide Together, Thrive Together.
Christians for Keeping Māori Wards.
Between 09 September and 11 October, 42 local authorities will hold referenda about whether to keep Māori wards, alongside their local body elections. As the Church was pivotal in shaping the Treaty relationship, Christians have a unique role to play in this conversation in each local government area.
Common Grace Aotearoa is equipping and educating faith communities about the Māori wards referendums in support of voting to Keep Māori wards.
Voting in Māori ward referendums is a chance to reflect deeply on God’s heart for us to all to belong, to honour the promise of the Treaty, and to love our neighbours.
No matter who we are or where we come from, most of us want a future where people and the environment are well-cared for. Māori wards can benefit our whole community by ensuring the God-given identity and wisdom of tangata whenua is at our Council’s decision-making table.
Māori wards are a step toward fulfilling the sacred promise of the Treaty, which promised to protect hapū decision-making about their local lands and waterways.
Māori wards can bridge divides in our communities and bring us closer together, in line with Christ’s vision for reconciliation.
Educating and equipping your faith community to navigate Māori ward referendums
Common Grace Aotearoa has created a set of resources to help churches understand Māori wards from a faith and justice perspective.
From 04 August, you will have access to resources to help your community learn, listen deeply to the perspectives of Tangata Whenua, and to a range of Church leaders, and to prayerfully consider their vote in the lead up to Māori ward referendums.
We invite you to plan a time between 04 August and 09 September, when postal voting starts, to share these resources in your faith community.
There are two key resources we are providing:
A 6 minute video from a range of Church leaders explaining the Māori ward referendums and what the benefits of Māori wards are. This can be played during a church service, and distributed in church newsletters.
A 2 hour workshop resource - 'Table Talk Conversations for Māori Wards in local government - A Christian Guide', a downloadable booklet with a mixture of short videos, discussion questions, interactive activities and prayer. This is an opportunity to go deeper in small facilitated groups and create an open space for people to learn, reflect, ask questions and engage with our hearts and heads about the upcoming Māori ward referendums. It features contributions from church leaders and theologians, and the perspectives of Māori leaders in the movement for Māori wards.
Fill out the form below to receive these resources for using in your church or with a small group.
Join us on this exciting learning opportunity to explore how Māori wards can make our communities stronger and live into the promise of the Te Tiriti relationship.
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Table Talk conversations are a tried and tested, simple yet incredibly powerful way to engage in conversations about important issues.
It typically involves gathering a group of up to 10 people in small group discussion around a particular issue – in this instance the issue is whether to keep a Māori ward in you local government area.
During this conversation, a conversation host (that’s you!) would use provided materials to help guide a conversation around the upcoming referendum and invite guests to ask questions and have honest conversations.
It can be held in a church, or in a home, and you could have multiple small groups and multiple hosts running the session together.
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Table Talk conversations are a tried and tested, simple yet incredibly powerful way to engage in conversations about important issues.
We know that one of the ways people change their hearts or minds on an issue is through conversations they have with people with whom they know and trust.
An honest, respectful, and relaxed conversation with a trusted friend or family member is far more likely to transform opinions than information from a third party.
Creating an open space for people to reflect, ask questions and air their concerns will mean that we’re making this journey positive and unifying.
This is your chance to make a compelling case for why you are voting YES in the upcoming referendums, and why you think your friends, family or those in your faith community should do the same.
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As a Table Talk conversation host, you will:
Be equipped with materials to help you plan and gather your small group, set the scene for people, and lead the group through a constructive conversation.
Bring together a small group of up to 10 people, for a purposeful and engaging conversation about the upcoming referendum and the importance of a Voice to Parliament.
Lead a conversation that helps build empathy, connection, and unity.
You do not need to be an expert! Facts and statistics and technical details have their place in the wider public discussions, but a Table Talk conversation is about you sharing your views openly and authentically and inviting others to do the same. It is your passion and your generous and invitational posture that will help to transform hearts and minds.
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The Māori Ward referendums are an important decision in our nation’s story, and many are still discerning how they will vote. The Bible is not a rule book that gives direction on how we should vote. However, in the teachings and example of Jesus, we find principles and virtues that shape the way his followers engage with the world.
These principles include the primacy of love (Mark 12:28-31), the importance of pursuing justice, mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23), and the call to serve all those in need (Matthew 25:31-46).
Jesus reminds us that all people are image bearers of God, and therefore our obligations to one another transcend culture, geography and circumstance (Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:31-46). We hear as well that Jesus’ purpose was to see all people flourish – to experience the ‘fullness of life’ (John 10:10).
Amongst theologians and Christians, these principles are (gratefully) uncontroversial. Which means that, when we are talking about the referendum on Māori wards, we can turn our attention to discerning how these principles shape our vote and what other values we may also need to consider.
As you approach your Table Talk Conversations or showing the video during a service we encourage you to consider how the space you create, and the invitation you extend to those around your table, embodies the love, generosity, welcome and compassion extended to each of us by our Lord Jesus.
You aren’t telling people how to vote, but inviting them listen to deeply to the perspectives of Tangata Whenua, to have an open heart, and to prayerfully consider their vote in light of the information contained in the workshop or in the video. -
The following areas are having a referendum on whether to keep Māori wards or constituencies at the 2025 elections:
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council
Far North District Council
Gisborne District Council
Hamilton City Council
Hastings District Council
Hauraki District Council
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council (Horizons Regional Council)
Horowhenua District Council
Hutt City Council
Kāpiti Coast District Council
Kawerau District Council
Manawatū District Council
Masterton District Council
New Plymouth District Council
Marlborough District Council
Matamata-Piako District Council
Napier City Council
Nelson City Council
Northland Regional Council
Ōtorohanga District Council
Porirua City Council
Palmerston North City Council
Rangitikei District Council
Rotorua District Council
Ruapehu District Council
South Taranaki District Council
South Wairarapa District Council
Stratford District Council
Taranaki Regional Council
Tararua District Council
Tasman District Council
Taupo District Council
Thames-Coromandel District Council
Waikato District Council
Waipa District Council
Wellington City Council
Wellington Region (Greater Wellington Regional Council)
Whakatāne District Council
Whanganui District Council
Whangārei District Council
Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Councils with Māori wards or constituencies that will have an electoral contest but are exempt from the poll provisions at the 2025 elections:
Bay of Plenty Regional Council – Local legislation enables Māori constituency
Ōpōtiki District Council – Previously met the poll provisions
Waikato Regional Council – Previously met the poll provisions
Wairoa District Council – Previously met the poll provisions
Councils that have reversed their Māori ward decisions and will not have an electoral contest or poll for Māori wards in 2025:
Kaipara District Council
Upper Hutt City Council
Council that has Māori representation by appointment of Māori to Council. It will not have an electoral contest or a poll for its Māori constituency:
Canterbury Region (Environment Canterbury) – Local legislation enables Māori appointments