Māori wards/seats could weaken the influence they aim to protect – Richard Prebble

People in the public gallery sang waiata when the decision was made to adopt a Māori ward in the Western Bay of Plenty. Photo / Alisha Evans

THE FACTS

• Voters in 42 council elections will decide whether to retain Māori wards, established since 2020.
• Māori wards are based on population.
• The introduction of Māori wards in Rotorua reduced the number of Māori councillors from four to three.

If you vote in the 42 council elections where your council has created a Māori ward since 2020 you will also vote whether to retain the Māori ward.

The referendums may turn out to be the most significant vote.

Those in favour say it is a Treaty right and ensures diversity. Those against say Māori Wards violate the principle that all votes should be equal.

As usual, the truth is more complicated.

Article Three of the Treaty grants Māori the rights of British subjects – the most valuable right is equality before the law.

Māori wards are established on the same population basis as general wards, so all votes are equal.

The settler Government that established Māori electorates in 1867 did so for the same reason that councils implemented Māori wards: governments govern by consent. Māori wards allow local government to claim that Māori are represented.

That does not mean decisions will favour Māori.

As a lawyer, I had a judge order me to represent a defendant. The judge was not doing a favour. The judge was ensuring the defendant could not appeal against the judge’s decision because he was not represented.

Councils are more likely to take decisions that Māori oppose when the councils can say that Māori voices were heard.

It is my observation from three decades in Parliament that Māori seats have hurt Māori.

But many Māori leaders and communities will argue the opposite.

If general electorate MPs’ constituents were experiencing the appalling Māori social statistics, the MPs would have demanded action. But Māori are not their constituents.

While Māori Wards mean Māori are represented, wards can limit Māori representation.

When Labour changed the law to allow councils to establish Māori wards without holding a poll, the Rotorua Council rushed to do so.

Before the change, Rotorua had 10 general councillors, a rural councillor, and the mayor. Four of the general councillors identified as Māori. That reflected the city: around 43% of Rotorua’s population identifies as Māori.

Based on the number who choose to go on the Māori roll, Rotorua is entitled to three Māori ward councillors.

At the last election, three were duly elected. Two well-regarded Māori councillors, who stood for the general ward, lost.

I was disappointed because I could not vote for Trevor Maxwell, who has been a councillor for a record 48 years, personifies Rotorua, but stood for the Māori roll.

Everyone gets to vote for mayor. Tania Tapsell, herself Māori won.

After the introduction of Māori Wards in Rotorua, the number of Māori councillors has gone down.

If I lived in a district with no Māori representation, I would consider voting for Māori Wards. But how would I know? Candidates are under no obligation to declare their ethnicity.

And here is a more sensitive issue: who is Māori? The Census counts as Māori anyone who ticks the Māori box even if they also ticked other ethnicities.

By law, anyone who has a Māori ancestor may go on the Māori roll. It is possible there are people enrolled who are just 1/256 Māori, that is having a Māori ancestor eight generations ago.

Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris claims Pākehā are trying to “steal” Māori seats. If he means the Māori MPs’ DNA, then Pākehā probably have.

One of the main reasons the 1986 Royal Commission recommended MMP was that it would ensure minorities were represented. Most commissioners said MMP would mean there would be no need for Māori seats.

MMP has delivered more MPs identifying as Māori than their share of the population.

Māori electorates have not boosted democratic engagement.

In last week’s Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara won with just 6031 votes out of 44,269 enrolled. When 38,238 either did not vote or voted against, how can Oriini Kaipara claim a democratic mandate?

On current polling, Labour’s path back to power depends on a coalition with Te Pāti Māori.

The Māori seats may cost Labour another election as the party moves away from the middle where elections are won to contest the Māori seats.

In my opinion, Te Pāti Māori’s extreme policies are challenging the rationale for separate representation.

Parliament has decided a referendum is the way to decide whether to have Māori Wards. Why is it the politicians and not the voters who decide whether to have Māori seats?

Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.