KEY POINTS:
Where seven Maori members of Parliament park themselves in Parliament for the next three years is the Maori issue of the 2008 election.
While in 2005 the Foreshore and Seabed Act and so-called Maori separatism and race-based privilege were major themes, the future of the Maori seats has become an issue prompted by the possibility that the Maori Party might win all seats from Te Tai Tokerau to Te Tai Tonga.
If the party wins the seats, it could potentially decide who forms the next Government.
Cue party positions: Labour wants to keep the status quo, the Maori Party wants to entrench the seats (meaning Parliament would need a 75 per cent majority to get rid of them) and National wants to abolish the seats. While general electorate seats are entrenched, Maori seats are not and can be scrapped with a bare 50 per cent majority.
The arguments for and against are essentially about power, although Labour maintains choice of representation is what the seats stand for.
Earlier this year a Business Roundtable report said that in an MMP environment the Maori seats distorted democracy because the Maori Party would receive more seats than its share of the party vote entitles it to in Parliament. Therefore the party's influence is disproportionate to their support.
Canterbury University law professor Philip Joseph authored that report and said the ethnic basis for them was "repugnant", and cited the 1986 royal commission report which said Maori representation would increase under the system, lessening the need for the seats.
Political commentator Matt McCarten said Professor Joseph's argument was "ignorantly racist" because it seemed to suggest there was a strict quota of Maori MPs acceptable in Parliament.
The "overhang" argument also doesn't translate in everyday terms to those on the Maori roll, because of the competition for votes. It's simple democracy in action - candidates stand, one wins and therefore they are entitled to go to Wellington to represent the constituency.
Former Cabinet minister Sandra Lee, who was the first Maori woman to win a general seat in 1993, said until formal discussions were held around a written constitution, policies on abolishing or entrenching the seats were premature.
That discussion was related to the position of the constitutional status of the Treaty of Waitangi, she said. But neither National nor Labour has indicated that it is a priority.
Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has said that if a constitution included the Treaty of Waitangi there might not be any need for the Maori seats.
Expanded out it's a position which would change the nature of New Zealand democracy - it suggests equal partnership not based on a majority/minority relationship.
That might be radical but the model for it already exists at a local government level with the Waikato River Settlement which sees iwi, the wider community and councils have an equal say in the management of the river.
But the brouhaha over the Maori seats has overshadowed a policy agreement between the parties which could bring tangible benefits.
All the major players have a Maori housing policy. At the 2006 Census nearly 70 per cent of Maori did not own their own home. Although that number accounted for those aged over 15, housing has long been an unachievable dream for many.
While the housing market is now bottoming the boom has kept many first-home buyers out of the market as prices moved beyond people's ability to service mortgages.
The Greens, National and Labour all support increased papakainga housing - that is whanau or hapu building homes on land with multiple ownership. The Maori Party wants to develop sustainable housing initiatives and New Zealand First would target high-need zones with low-deposit and low-interest provisions.
While Maori may have land as an asset, building on it has its difficulties. Getting sign-off to go ahead with developments is problematic at times because of the sheer numbers of owners. However, that is probably less of a problem than the availability of cash and the Greens would require that banks provide loans on this type of land.
Historically, accessing credit from banks to finance homes is where deals fall over because of the perceived risk associated with multiple owners.
Housing New Zealand already has loans for papakainga projects where loans are secured over the homes which are built, not the land. As part of the agreement the buildings must be easily moveable.
The papakainga policies are catching up with a movement from iwi, Maori incorporations and urban authorities, who over the last five years have been exploring ways they can provide housing themselves.
Ngati Maniapoto's Maraeroa C, which owns land in the King Country and has 1100 beneficiaries, is starting small but is one of the leaders in the field.
In the next 12 months the incorporation plans to start building 10 homes on their block, with buyer-beneficiaries owning the home but paying a rental on the land. Effectively that long-term leasehold will travel in a circular fashion back to the beneficiaries themselves.
It is, says CEO Glen Katu, a "win-win situation" which will see Maori own the "bricks and mortar" but also keep the land safe for future generations and provide an income stream for the wider beneficiaries.
IN A NUTSHELL
National, Labour and the Maori Party have all staked out differing views on the future of the Maori seats. Why is your plan the best?
PAREKURA HOROMIA, LABOUR PARTY
Plan: Support the Maori electoral option, keep the status quo.
We want to make sure it's Maori that make that choice on what happens to the Maori seats. People haven't asked to entrench, we're certainly clear of that. Our line is quite clear, we want to retain them.
TAU HENARE, NATIONAL PARTY
Plan: Abolish the seats.
I think with the advent of MMP it has given Maori more representation than ever before, especially when we just started out with the four Maori seats. There's really no need for the Maori seats - that's it in a nutshell. By 2014 we will start the move to abolish them.
TARIANA TURIA, CO-LEADER, MAORI PARTY
Plan: Entrench the seats.
Entrenching the Maori seats gives them the same protection as the general electorate seats; one law for all. The Maori seats honour the Treaty by ensuring both peoples have a voice in government. With a Treaty-based constitution, we might not need them but that decision is for Maori.
