Separate Maori seats on Environment BOP could be in place for this year's local body election in October.
Parliament's justice and electoral select committee recommended to Parliament yesterday afternoon that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill proceed to its second reading next Wednesday.
The legislation would allow Environment BOP to establish Maori seats on its council. Those registered on the Maori roll would elect councillors to the Maori seats.
If passed by Parliament, the new system could come into effect this year.
The select committee has created an interim arrangement allowing the council, if it wishes, to create an extra two Maori seats for this year's election in October.
Council chairman John Keaney said that while the council still had to discuss the interim measure, he was in favour of establishing Maori seats for the coming election since Environment BOP promoted the bill on behalf of Maori.
"The integrity of the council and the individual councillors (who supported the bill) would be at stake if they could proceed and did not proceed," Mr Keaney said.
"It would have to be a very good reason why the council should not or could not go ahead," he said.
Mr Keaney was delighted the bill passed through to its second reading. He said Maori owned about half the land in th Bay of Plenty so had a large stake in the environment.
"It will guarantee continuity of Maori representation around the council table, something we haven't had in the past," Mr Keaney said.
He said the full council would have its first opportunity to discuss the bill on May 24 when it meets in Tauranga.
Mita Ririnui, Labour's Waiariki MP who introduced the bill, said he was very pleased it had passed to its second reading.
Mr Ririnui said Maori represented 28 percent of the Bay of Plenty population and owned half the land in the region so there should be Maori representation on the regional council.
The current process did not assure Maori of representation, he said.
Mr Ririnui hoped the "controversial" legislation would be passed in time to implement it for the coming election.
The interim measure proposed by the select committee allowed for two Maori seats above the 12 general seats for this year's election.
Tauranga MP Winston Peters lashed out at the Bill today, saying the Government - spported by the Greens - had "mindlessly gone down the path of apartheid and ethnic politics, which can only be disastrous for Maori and all New Zealanders.
"Why create two separate Maori seats when there are already two Maori on the council elected by all voters. It is separatism, and that is clearly what the Government wants. It ghettoises Maori representation in these seats, and worse still it shows how idle sentiment is now a substitute for hard work by some Maori MPs.
"If they really wanted to help the Maori people in the Bay, then the Maori members would have pushed for a change to allow shareholders in Maori corporations to have the same voting rights as those unit owners in a body corporate property. That bwould mean that hitherto unfranchised Maori would get a voe based on land ownership," said Mr Peters
Environment BOP councillor Jim Pringle opposed the bill and said he would like to see the country get on well together, rather then creating a form of separatism.
"I do not feel it's going to be good for Maoridom," Mr Pringle said.
Mr Pringle said it would be "interesting" to see which way the council voted as to whether Maori seats would be in place for the coming election.
However, he believed the bid to establish the separate seats this year would fail because of the amount of work needed to implement it in time, and the unbudgeted money required.
Bay of Plenty MP and National Party member Tony Ryall opposed the bill but said it was almost certain to be passed.
Labour and the Alliance are in favour of the bill, while National, Act, New Zealand First and United are against it.
The Green Party has the deciding votes but so far had backed the Government on the bill, he said.
Mr Ryall believed most people in the Bay of Plenty did not support the bill and it was up to the Green Party to stop it.
"I don't think it's necessary and I think it's patronising (to Maori)," Mr Ryall said.
He said Maori were already elected to the regional council when successful and he did not believe having separate seats would improve anything.
National Party justice spokesman Wayne Mapp said his party opposed the bill because it believed separate seats on Environment BOP would not promote cohesion between people.
"It makes them think of their separate interests rather then their common interests," Mr Mapp said.
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