The majority of Western Bay of Plenty mayoral candidates are in favour of Māori Wards, according to a first-of-its-kind survey.

Local Democracy Reporting's 14 journalists canvassed the country's 291 mayoral candidates on key issues to produce the ‘2022 Local Democracy Reporting mayoral candidate survey'.

LDR's Alisha Evans scoped out the Western BOP candidates' thoughts on Māori wards compared to the rest of Aotearoa.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council does not have a Māori ward and establishing one will likely be a hot topic ahead of its representation review in the next triennium.

Māori wards will form part of this review, but are not mandatory and can be voted on by the council.

When Western BOP Mayoral candidates were asked if Māori wards are an effective way to increase Māori participation, both as candidates and as voters, five of the seven respondents (71 per cent) said ‘yes'.

This compares to close to half (48.5 per cent) nationally saying ‘yes', with one-quarter unsure (26.2 per cent) and another one-quarter (25.2 per cent) answering ‘no'.

When giving his reason, deputy mayor John Scrimgeour says: 'There would definitely be an increased interest and participation from voters registered on the Māori Roll and as a consequence more candidates of Māori descent”.

Don Thwaites and Rodney Joyce say they are working at the regional council and central government level so support them in local government.

Current Kaimai Ward councillor Thwaites says: 'The absolute key is that each voter has one vote, and each ward established, is proportional to numbers enrolled”.

Joyce, a Katikati businessman, says the Government will 'likely mandate” them, so 'we need to stop fighting an unwinnable fight”.

'WBOP has a good record of Māori councillors but less so in terms of local iwi representation.”

Current Katikati-Waihī Beach Ward councillor James Denyer responded ‘yes', but also wanted to consider 'other solutions” alongside the representation review and 'hear the views of the community and iwi/Māori to understand their preferred solutions”.

Hori BOP Leaming agrees they are effective, but didn't provide a reason why.

Maketu local Paul Haimona (Ngati Whakaue, Ngāti Makino, Ngati Pikiao) said ‘no', and his reason is: 'If they were effective, we would not be asking this question”.

The other candidate to answer ‘no' was Te Puke businessman Mark Boyle. 'Māori participation through vote is democratic. Engagement with Māori can be improved through formal iwi, hapu, business and community forums.”

There are eight contenders in the Western BPO mayoralty race, with Suaree Borrell not responding to the survey.

It was sent out to all 291 mayoral candidates and garnered 202 responses, representing a 69 per cent response rate.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.