Having a young Māori mayor in the Far North is already making an impact on tamariki, inspiring them to consider running for the district’s top job.
Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.
Moko Tepania, 32, was announced as mayor late on Friday and has already chosen another Māori councillor, Kelly Stratford, as deputy.
Half the population of the Far North is of Māori descent and Tepania (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa) was surprised there had been no other Māori mayor in the 33 years of the district council.
But he said the benefits to the tamariki he teaches at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe had been almost immediate.
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“When you see 5-year-olds coming up to you saying, ‘I want to be mayor one day,’ it shows what that’s unlocked – it’s something they didn’t have before.”
Tepania planned to hit the ground running in the role by building whanaungatanga across iwi leaders, business leaders, central government agencies and non-government organisations.
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Moko Tepania is a one-term councillor, te reo Māori teacher and now the Far North’s first Māori mayor.
“The things that we need to do to ensure that the people of the Far North thrive cannot be done by the council alone – it has to be done with others.”
He admitted some relationships needed to be repaired, including with iwi leaders – as four memorandums of understanding between iwi and council had expired.
But Tepania credited former mayor John Carter for taking initiative during the Covid lockdowns to start a weekly conference call with business leaders, which he said he would continue.
He had also already talked with newly elected Auckland mayor Wayne Brown, saying the district was lucky Brown was its former mayor.
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Moko Tepania was co-chairperson of Local Government New Zealand’s Young Elected Member network, leading a path for change at the conference in July. (File photo)
“What happens in Auckland affects us in Northland, you can’t get past that. Having a really strong relationship with Wayne Brown is key.”
Tepania also wanted to see a thorough induction programme for the Far North’s new councillors.
They include the four new Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward councillors – Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, Tāmati Rākena, Penetaui Kleskovic and Babe Kapa – along with Steve McNally, who returns after an absence.
They join incumbents Kelly Stratford, Ann Court, John Vujcich, Felicity Foy and Mate Radich.
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Far North councillor Kelly Stratford says she’s humbled to be deputy mayor. (File photo)
Meanwhile, Stratford (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāi te Rangi) said she was humbled to be chosen as deputy mayor.
People had voted to see more transparent and equitable decision-making on council, but inclusiveness was also important and non-Māori should not feel threatened, she said.
One of her first goals was to ensure the district’s wastewater treatment plants were compliant – although funding would be a challenge, she said.
Far North District Council runs 15 different wastewater plants, of which only four have no issues.
The remainder are either running under expired consents or abatement notices for breaching consent.
Stratford said she was not concerned about Brown attempting to stop the government’s Three Waters reform, saying it was in the hands of central government.
“What I’m hearing is it is going to happen and Wayne Brown – I don’t know if he realises this – he doesn’t have the power to stop it.”
