Status upgrade for Wellington Council mana whenua reps 09 Apr 2021 12:12 PM More Related Stories HASH(0x2fda328) Wellington City councillors have overcome resistance from mayor Andy Foster and voted 8-6 in favour of giving mana whenua representatives a vote on its committees. Representatives from Taranaki Whānui and Ngati Toa Rangatira have served on the Strategy and Policy Committee and the Annual / Long Term Plan Committee without pay and with no voting rights. Councillor Jill Day says that will now be remedied, and mana whenua representatives will serve on most other committees as well from July. She says while all councillors supported paying the representatives, the mayor and five others took the view it was against democratic principles to give a vote to unelected members.