Northland Regional Councillor Dover Samuels is setting up a Tai Tokerau Maori Regional Advisory Committee to improve tangata whenua representation.
The plans are being developed as electors decide on a proposal by the Local Government Commission for a single authority for the whole of Northland.
The commission also proposes a standing Maori committee for the new council.
Mr Samuels, a former Maori Affairs Minister, says politicians and councils have a responsibility to engage with tangata whenua.
An establishment group has been set up for a Tai Tokerau Maori Advisory group, and the challenge is to find appropriate hapu and iwi representatives for it, he says.
The Northland Regional Council is committed to the idea and is putting a plan together to make it happen, Mr Samuels says.
