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Whakaräpopotonga
I whakahau te ture Local Government Act 2002 kia
whakauru te Mäori ki roto i ngä whakatakotoranga
whakaaro o ngä kaunihera-a-rohe. Ka whitu tau mai i
taua wä, ka tika kua tae ki te wä ki te äta titiro ki ngä hua
o aua törangapü, me te whakaaro anö mö ngä wawata o
ngä hapori Mäori mö ta rätou urunga ki ngä whakaritenga
kaunihera-a-rohe. Ko tënei pepa he whakaaturanga o
tëtahi kaupapa rangahau kua whakaritea hei tirohanga
i te whai wähitanga o te Mäori i roto i ngä pötitanga-arohe
me ëtahi atu momo ähuatanga o te whai wähitanga.
Tokowhä ngä momo tängata tuku-poti hei hunga mö ngä
hui rangahau (focus groups): ko ngä Mäori e rua tekau mä
rima tau, pakeke atu ränei: noho ana ki ngä taone, noho ki
taiwhenua, me ngä Mäori tekau mä waru ki te rua tekau mä
whä te pakeke e kimi tohu ana, e kimi mahi ana. Ko ënei
hui rangahau he wähanga nö tëtahi kaupapa rangahau
matua e rapu ana i te hononga o te möhio o te tangata mö
te ao kaunihera-a-rohe ki töna whai wähitanga i taua ao.
I kitea ko ngä hui rangahau he hurahi ki te körero tahi
me te rangatahi Mäori mö ä rätou ake whai wähitanga i
ngä whakatakotoranga whakaaro kaunihera-a-rohe. Ko
te hiahia o tënei pepa ko te whakatau i ngä körero kua
puta, mai i ngä rangatahi Mäori e pä ana ki te urunga ki
te ao o te kaunihera-a-rohe, me ngä whakaaro mö ngä
hua o te hui rangahau me öna tikanga. Ka whakapuaki
tënei pepa i ëtahi tohutohu mä ngä kaunihera-a-rohe ki te
whakakore i ngä ähua ärai i te rangatahi i a ia e tuku poti
ana me öna atu momo whai wähitanga. Ko te mea matua
ko te whakakaha i ngä ara kia piki te whai wähitanga o te
rangatahi Mäori, kia pai ake te whakauru o ngäi Mäori ki
roto i ngä whakatakotoranga whakaaro o ngä kauniheraa-
rohe ä ngä tau e heke mai nei.

Abstract
The Local Government Act 2002 explicitly requires Mäori
contributions to local authority decision-making processes.
Seven years on, it is timely to review the outcomes of the
new statutory provisions and to consider Mäori aspirations
in relation to local political participation. This paper
describes research that was carried out to investigate
Mäori participation in local elections and other forms of
decision-making. Focus groups were conducted with four
main types of Mäori electors: urban Mäori and rural Mäori aged 25 years and over, and 18-24 years old Mäori engaged
in tertiary education or the workforce. The focus groups
were part of a wider project on local political participation
which explored linkages between what people know
about local government and their participation in local
government. Focus groups (hui rangahau) proved to be
a particularly valuable vehicle for engaging with Mäori
youth (rangatahi Mäori) about their participation in local
authority decision-making. The purpose of this paper is
to report the findings on the views of rangatahi Mäori
about local political participation, and offers reflections on
the utility of the focus group methodology. The research
highlights a number of strategies that local authorities can
deploy to reduce the barriers to voting and other forms
of participation experienced by Mäori youth. Improved
engagement with Mäori youth is vital to ensure that Mäori
contributions to decision-making processes do not remain
under-developed in future.