When Nelson City Council announced a Maori ward seat, Kahu Paki Paki (Te Ātiawa) offered to help run a campaign.

Then he was “volun-told” that he would be standing.

“I just want to be a carver,” he says. “I just love it. It’s my jam. Have you seen my stuff?”

He starts pulling up examples of his work, including an intricately carved hoe (paddle) he’s been working on. After this he’s heading to a meeting about a new project.

Carver he may be – but he also ended up being elected as the first Māori ward councillor for Nelson in the 2022 election.

At first, he wasn’t interested in being put forward for the seat, but as iwi leaders discussed who should run it was Paki Paki they landed on. It was a strategic decision by the Māori community, he said.

“I was selected because I’ve burnt the least number of bridges … I don’t have any enemies in the Māori community. So I was quite neutral in that regard.”

Even then he was hesitant, until someone asked if he wanted someone representing the Māori community, who wasn’t part of the Māori community.

“That hadn’t really occurred to me before. And that person said, do you want that person representing you? And I was kind of like, okay. Point taken.”

For Paki Paki it was also his duty – when he was in his 20s iwi sent him to university to get a degree so that he could get the skills to work for the Māori community.

“That’s why I ended up doing political science and governance. Because I had no idea what … the community was going to need.”

Since then, he’s built a successful career, working in subdivision management and business – both the commercial side as as a business owner – and still runs his own consultancy service. He spent 13 years living in Australia before moving back to Stoke with his family in 2016.

“The council is really getting a great deal for the hours that I put in, because I know what I charge for my other work. And there’s not even close to to what we get.”

But that’s not why he joined council, he said.

“There’s an opportunity to demonstrate that within the Māori community, we have a level of competency and capability to be able to contribute very well, you know, in an objective and measured and calculated manner.”

It’s a role that’s become even more solidified for him, as Māori wards are being looked at by the new coalition government which includes a clause about the ward seats in the coalition government: “The right to local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards, including requiring a referendum on any wards established without referendum at the next Local Body elections.”

After a year in the seat, Paki Paki is adamant the Māori ward serves an important role on council.

“The establishment of the Māori Ward, is an excellent tool or mechanism for some really positive engagement between local government and te iwi Māori, because it is absolutely absent in a system that simply requires a majority of people to voice or to decide who should get what.”

He sees the threat of a referendum as a “red herring”.

“Referendums, I’ve said it before, are always called by people who know that they’re going to win.”

Whether a referendum would be successful would come down to when it was held and how it was worded.

“Quite often, the way that the referendums are phrased allows quite a bit of flexibility … and that’s usually where the arguments lie. Not necessarily on the yes or no, but how yes and how no.”

Even when he was standing, many iwi representatives didn’t want to promote the election, as they strived to stay apolitical.

But Paki Paki hopes, in coming elections, they will realise they don’t need to support a candidate to encourage people to vote – because to him, it’s about making sure Māori have a voice. And that happens when you vote.

“The support of the Māori Ward is not political, you are not supporting a political ideology, you are supporting a seat of governance, access to governance, and the ability to participate in local government activities.

“So instead of seeing it as a political obstacle, they really should have seen it as a governance opportunity. And I think that will change in our next election quite a bit.”

Since being on council, Paki Paki has championed making iwi consultation a higher priority in reports to make sure all reports are read in that context.

He laughs when it’s pointed out he has a tendency to correct te reo pronunciation during meetings, and says it’s usually after many times correcting people behind the scenes. Also, he adds, he likes to have fun.

“We have to enjoy what we’re doing because it puts us in a really good frame of mind to be able to recall and remember that we’re working for a community, we’re not working for a corporation.”