A/HRC/18/35/Add.4 maintain and improve opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decisionmaking processes” (sect. 4). However, no local councils have established special electoral arrangements for Maori under the Act since it came into force, even though a number have considered the option. 17. A major concern communicated to the Special Rapporteur is the decision by the Government to not guarantee Maori electoral seats in the Auckland “Supercity” Council. In its report on Auckland governance, the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance—a body formed by the Government to provide recommendations on the formation of the Auckland City Council—recognized that “Maori constitute a unique community of interest with special status as a partner under the Treaty of Waitangi”3 and recommended that Maori be guaranteed seats on the Auckland City Council. However, in the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Act of 2010 (No. 36), the Government chose not to adopt the Royal Commission’s recommendation, opting instead to establish a Maori Advisory Board with a non-binding consultative role before the council. The Government has emphasized that the Local Government Act of 2002 can be used to ensure specific Maori seats on the new Auckland Council if the council chooses to do so, although this is not guaranteed. 18. The Bay of Plenty, a region where Maori people make up 28 per cent of the population, presents a contrasting unique arrangement for Maori participation at the local level. In 2001, following a bill advanced by the Maori Regional Representation Committee, an advisory body to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Parliament passed the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Act (No. 1), establishing a system under which Maori in the region may register on a separate Maori electoral roll and the number of Maori councillors is determined by the number of Maori registered on that roll. Of the 13 councillors currently elected to the Bay of Plenty, 3 are from Maori constituencies. 2. Consultation with Maori in decisions that affect them 19. The duty to consult with Maori people has been described as inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi, and as part of the overarching principles of partnership and active protection.4 However, the duty to consult is not regarded as absolute; the New Zealand Court of Appeal has stated that “in truth the notion of an absolute open-ended and formless duty to consult is incapable of practical fulfilment and cannot be regarded as implicit in the Treaty”.5 According to the Court, the duty to consult with Maori will vary according to the circumstances of the case, and “in some [cases] extensive consultation and co-operation will be necessary. In others … [the State] may have sufficient information in its possession for it to act consistently with the principles of the Treaty without any specific consultation”.6 20. In this connection, consultations with Maori have taken place or are required in the following contexts, among others: (a) At the local level, under the Local Government Act, councils have the general obligation to “establish and maintain processes to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority” (sect. 81 (a)); 3 4 5 6 Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, report on Auckland governance (Auckland, 2009), chap. 22, para. 22.2. New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General [1987] 1 NZLR 687. Ibid., p. 683. Ibid. 7