The Truth about Maori wards
Helen Clark’s Labour Government (2001) introduced petition rights for Maori wards to protect voters against councils manipulating constitutional arrangements without mandates from their community.
When Local ElectoralAct (2001) introduced Maori wards because it involved changing the voting system to include the Maori roll, the same democratic constitutional safeguards were applied, mirroring Sections 27-34, which protected electors if councils decided to change the voting system between First Past the Post (FPP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV) without public consultation.
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/256537-the-truth-about-maori-wards.html