This year's local body elections have seen a drastic increase in the numbers of Māori wards, but as nominations close this Friday, there are calls for Māori to get their votes in amid concerns of a lack of interest.
In a historic moment in Northland, last year the Far North District Council voted 7- 3 to introduce the new Māori ward Ngā Tai o Tokerau.
There are 35 Māori wards in local councils across Aotearoa, including all four councils in Northland.
READ MORE: All newly elected Māori councillors to get mentor
This is compared to just three nationwide in 2019.
It will likely bring in a further 50 Māori councillors - perhaps the most our nation's ever seen.
And despite two Northland councillors resigning in protest, it’s obvious the once divisive and hugely controversial change is now becoming the norm.
Moko Tepania was one of those instrumental in the change pushing the Far North District Council to reconsider the motion after the 2020 vote failed.
Now the Far North District councillor says he’ll be one of those to throw their hat in the ring for Ngā Tai o Tokerau.
"The Māori ward was something that I really championed in this last term as a councillor," Tepania said.
"So I thought it would be quite rude of me to stand in a general ward."
The new ward will cover the entire district and comprise four councillors elected by voters on the Māori roll.
Whangārei, Kaipara and the regional council also have newly introduced Māori wards, with the councils running information evenings encouraging potential candidates to stand.
But while a Kaikohe meeting had a reasonable attendance, others were disappointing, with only two attending the meeting in Kaitaia and no one at the meeting in Kawakawa.
The number of candidates for the four Northland councils is also concerning. The Far North is looking for four Māori councillors but only four candidates have come forward so far.
The Northland Regional Council is also looking for two possible candidates, but with two days to go, no one has put their name forward yet.
Dover Samuels entered local body politics in the '60s after the court tried to confiscate his whānau land because of unpaid rates.
"I was at the court and I remember our old people sitting there wondering why they had to pay these rates, why this land was subject to alienation when in fact they got no services, no roads, no water; really nothing that the council, that authority, offered our people," he said.
"They just couldn't understand it and you know, my grandfather had tears running down his face."
He became one of the first Māori to be elected to a district council.
"I have to salute the younger generation because it's not just the Māori younger generation that supports this but the younger pākehā also supports it and I say hallelujah to that."
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