There's disappointment from some after a majority of Māori wards are set to go. 

17 councils have voted to keep them, and 25 have voted to remove them

Whakatane Māori Ward councillor Toni Boynton says those referendums should never have been held.

She says this choice should be up to councils.

"If they're elected by their constituents, that's democracy, right? And they're elected to be able to make those decisions and that decision was taken away from them."

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