Information About the Selection Body

When will the Selection Body be established?

The Selection Body is established when the chosen mana whenua group representatives meet for the first time.

How are members of the Selection Body chosen?

This is a two-step process.

First, the Minister of Māori affairs will give notice to the mana whenua groups in the Auckland region that each group needs to select a person to be its mandated representative on the Selection Body. The notice can be written or electronic.

The Minister of Māori Affairs will give notice to mana whenua groups who:

• have historic and continuing mana whenua in an area wholly or partly within the Auckland Council boundaries, and
• within the Auckland Council boundaries, are one or more of the following:
  • a mandated iwi organisation under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004, or
  • the subject of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, or
  • confirmed by the Crown as holding a mandate to negotiate a current Treaty of Waitangi claim.

The notice will state the time by which each group must give the Minister the name of the group’s chosen representative for the Selection Body.

Second, a mana whenua group that receives the notice may choose one person to be its mandated representative on the Selection Body.

What must the Selection Body do?

The sole function of the Selection Body is to appoint members to the Statutory Board promoting issues of significance for mana whenua groups and Mātāwaka of Tāmaki Makaurau (“the Board”).

The Selection Body must appoint the initial Board Members on, or before, 1 November 2010. This is so that the Board is ready from 1 November to carry out its functions.

In selecting Board Members, the Selection Body must be guided only by the Board’s purpose, functions and powers.

The Selection Body will develop its own processes and procedures for appointing the members of the Board, except that they will be required to follow some key minimum requirements that are set down in the Act.

Selecting Board Members

The Selection Body will choose two Mātāwaka representatives, and seven mana whenua representatives to be Members of the Board.

In appointing members to the Board, the Selection Body:

• must be guided only by the Board’s purpose, functions, and powers; and
• does not have to take directions from the Auckland Council or any of its committees or councillors; and
• may seek advice from any source it considers appropriate.

The Selection Body must ensure that their proposed Board Members meet three criteria, listed below.

Criteria for Board Members from the Act

To be a Board Member, a person must meet three criteria:

• The person must be a natural person (i.e., not a company),
• He or she must consent to being appointed to the board, and
• He or she must not be disqualified by one of the reasons below.

A person will be disqualified from being a Board Member if he or she is any of the following:

• Under 18 years old,
• An undischarged bankrupt,
• Prohibited from being a director, promoter or manager of a company (under the Companies Act 1993, Securities Act 1978, Securities Markets Act 1988, or the Takeovers Act 1993),
• Under the Personal and Property Rights Act 1988:
  • Is subject to a property order, or
  • Has had a personal order made against him or her, that negatively reflects on his or her:
    • Competence to manage his or her own property, or
    • Capacity to make or communicate decisions about his or her welfare.
• Subject to a property order under the Personal and Property Rights Act 1988
• Someone who has had a personal order against them under the Personal and Property Rights Act 1988,
• Convicted of an offence punishable by a prison term of 2 years or more, or sentenced to imprisonment for any offence,
• A current MP, Auckland councillor, or local board member, or
• Disqualified under any other Act.

Skills to look for in candidates

The following are examples of skills that the Selection Body may look for in candidates:

• Good knowledge of the issues facing Māori in the Auckland region,
• The ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing,
• The ability to take a wide perspective on issues,
• Common sense, integrity, and a strong sense of ethics,
• Financial literacy,
• Strong ability for critical analysis,
• The confidence to ask questions, and
• The ability to work in a team.The Act does not require that candidates possess these skills; however they are useful skills for Board Members to possess.

Mātāwaka representatives

To choose the two Mātāwaka representatives for the Board, the Selection Body must follow a process that, at the least:

• includes public notification of the process that the Body intends to use,
• gives an opportunity for nominations to be received, and
• requires the Selection Body to take into account the views of Mātāwaka when choosing representatives.

All other aspects of the selection of Mātāwaka representatives would be the responsibility of the Selection Body.

Mana whenua representatives

The Selection Body will establish its own processes for choosing mana whenua representatives. This is because the Selection Body represents the collective mana whenua interests.

The Selection Body may choose members of the Selection Body to be Board Members, but is not required to do so. For example, the Selection Body may decide that it would be inappropriate to appoint members from amongst their own number to the Board, and could resolve to only appoint to the Board people from outside the Selection Body.

Steps to appoint proposed Board Members

Before being appointed, people chosen by the Selection Body as proposed Board Members must give the Selection Body written certificates stating that they are not disqualified from being a Member under the Act, and that they consent to being appointed to the Board.

Once decisions on Board membership have been made, the Selection Body must give the chosen Board Members a certificate of appointment, which:

• States the date on which the appointment starts, and
• Is signed by at least two members of the Selection Body.

The Selection Body must give copies of the certificates of appointment to the Auckland Council, and the Minister of Māori Affairs.

Under the new provisions that establish the Statutory Board, the Selection Body must have appointed Board Members on or before 1 November 2010.

In future, the Selection Body must have completed the selection of Board members at least two months before the end of the incumbent Board Members’ terms of office.

What is the role of the Minister of Māori Affairs?

The Minister of Māori Affairs plays a supporting role in the Selection Body and Board processes.

The Minister’s role is to:

• Receive a certificate for each appointed Board Member,
• Receive notification if the Board appoints members, or creates or changes its name,
• Accept resignations from Board Members or Selection Body members,
• Receive notification if the Board removes a Board Member, and
• Ensure that mandated mana whenua group representatives are appointed to the Selection Body. The Minister does this by:
  • Giving notice to mana whenua groups in the Auckland Region that they need to choose a mandated representative to be on the Selection Body,
  • Receiving notice of the name of the mandated representative for each mana whenua group, and
• Step in, where there is a dispute within either the Selection Body, or the Board, or between the Selection Body and the Board, and to take the necessary steps to resolve the dispute.

Resigning from the Selection Body

If any person appointed to the Selection Body resigns to the Minister of Māori Affairs, the Minister must notify the mana whenua group, and ask the mana whenua group to nominate a replacement.

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