Tauranga MP’s proposed equal voting rights bill criticised by iwi group leaders

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell said all Kiwis should have equal rights and responsibilities. Photo / Alex Cairns

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell’s proposed equal voting rights bill ignores that Māori still face political disadvantages, iwi group leaders say.

Uffindell said his private members’ bill lodged last week was aimed at ensuring equal voting rights in local and central government.

The draft bill was intended to stop any move away from the principle of equal suffrage, where each person gets an equal say in electing people, Uffindell said.

“I hear a lot of concern from members of the community that councils, like Tauranga City Council, want to move away from equal suffrage and give special rights and voting power to people based on ethnicity.

“My response to that is we are all Kiwis; we should all have equal rights and responsibilities.”

Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / Alex Cairns

Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley said he didn’t agree with the bill and it “ignores the fact that Māori still face political disadvantages”.

“Māori seats ensure indigenous representation, not privilege.”

The political disadvantage in its “simplest form” was not having a Māori voice, he said.

A Māori voice represented Māori interests and was chosen by Māori, said Stanley.

Stanley said the equal suffrage rhetoric was not new.

“It gets tiring. Why do you have to continually fight just to have your head above water?”

Matire Duncan, chairwoman of Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana. Photo / Alisha Evans

Matire Duncan chairs Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana, a group representing local hapū and iwi, which works with the council. She had “deep concerns” about the bill.

It risked undermining the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and legal and constitutional frameworks recognising the rights of tangata whenua in governance, she said.

“This bill misrepresents Māori representation mechanisms as special rights rather than corrective measures to address the ongoing effects of colonisation and ensure meaningful partnership between the Crown and tangata whenua.”

It appeared to be a reaction to councils granting tangata whenua representatives full voting rights on committees, she said.

Late last year, elected members of the Tauranga City Council voted to reinstate tangata whenua representatives and their voting rights to the council’s three committees, after a request from Te Rangapū.

Iwi representatives had been appointed to council committees since 2016 and were given voting rights in 2020.

The newly elected council did not appoint iwi representatives when first elected in July 2024 because they wanted to understand if it would be beneficial, Mayor Mahé Drysdale said at the time.

A supporter for reinstating tangata whenua representatives to council committees brought a Toitū te Tiriti sign to last year's meeting. Photo / Alisha Evans

Duncan said councils should be able to work with tangata whenua in ways that suited their region.

“[The bill] is a step backwards when we should be working together for stronger, more engaged local democracy.”

Uffindell should speak to local iwi, hapū, tangata whenua about whether they feel discriminated against as they shouldn’t have to feel this way, Duncan said

Asked if he had spoken to Te Rangapū about the iwi appointments, Uffindell said: “No. I have read the reasons and I’ve seen what the council’s stance was on it.”

“At a higher level, I believe in equal suffrage and … to be on a local council, you need to be elected to be on that local council.”

He said he disagreed with giving voting rights to any unelected members on council committees whether on “racial lines” or “expertise lines”.

“Ultimately, that’ll be up to the council to determine … but just from an overarching perspective we want equal suffrage.”

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / David Hall

Drysdale said the council worked with all key stakeholders for the benefit of Tauranga, including iwi.

“Local government operates on the basis of representative democracy.

“It’s up to our local MPs to decide on matters of importance for their member’s bills and we will wait to see if this bill is drawn and supported by the Government.”

Uffindell said the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act and the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill highlighted the move away from the principle of equal suffrage.

Ngāi Tahu can appoint two members with voting rights to the Canterbury Regional Council. The Rotorua Bill would have seen equal Māori and general seat numbers on the council but was scrapped in 2022.

“People are telling me they feel discriminated against and treated as second-class citizens,” Uffindell said.

“They shouldn’t have to feel this way and central and local government have a duty to ensure everyone is equal under the law – this starts with equal suffrage. As far as I’m concerned, no Kiwi is any more special than any other.”

Uffindell’s New Zealand Bill of Rights (Right to Equal Suffrage in Local Elections) Amendment Bill is now in the ballot in Parliament and may be drawn for debate.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.