Maori Wards gets the go-ahead

Political organization Youth in Politics has given Maori Wards the tick, following New Plymouth District Council’s decision to be the first in the country to implement them into an election.

A Maori Ward will be established in New Plymouth for the 2016 local council election, and the youth are fully supportive of the idea.

At New Plymouth’s Youth Parliament on Saturday the organization voted in favour of supporting Maori Wards.

This comes after President Michael McLeod, 15, made a deputation to the New Plymouth District Council insisting the council takes the first point of action.

“We don’t want to clean up after you” he said.

The organization’s new policy to support Maori Wards is the first in the organization’s history.

Founder Michael Riley, 16, said never has the organization supported it, until now.

“Maori Wards has been debated before, and lost dramatically, but there has been a major turn over in the thinking” he said.

Riley also made a deputation with McLeod telling the council to implement the Ward system for Maori people.

Mayor of New Plymouth Andrew Judd was fully supportive of the wards, and voted in favour, becoming the first ever district council to implement Maori Wards.

The Maori Party said “New Plymouth is leading the way to better representation, and the rangatahi are a big push for it”