Whakatāne District Council has voted to retain its three Māori ward seats.
They will ask residents next year if they wish to keep the Māori wards for the 2028 and 2031 local elections.
It will also consider the legal consequences of not holding the referendum, in line with similar actions by Palmerston North City Council.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Bay, Kawerau District Council voted to retain its Māori ward.
The law does not affect Ōpōtiki District Council’s decision to introduce Māori wards next year.
A non-binding poll in 2022 showed Ōpōtiki residents favored Māori wards, which were established at the end of last year.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s three Māori ward seats are also exempt from the legislation.
The Regional Council's seats were created before the provision to hold polls on Māori wards and constituencies was scrapped in 2021, by the last Labour Government.
Public Interest Journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
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