By 77 to 43 they voted for the first reading of the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.
This bill over-rides the existing electoral law which requires wards to be roughly the same size, so that a vote in one ward is worth as much as a vote elsewhere. The same law applies at a national level with a 5% tolerance.
But what this bill does is legislate for 22,000 voters on the Māori roll to elect three ward Councillors and 56,000 voters on the general roll to elect three ward Councillors. This means the votes of people on the general roll will be worth 39% of the votes of those on the Māori roll – which is of course restricted to those who have had at least one Māori ancestor.
So Labour and Greens have voted for a bill that will, in Rotorua, reduce the votes of those on the general roll to 39% of those on the Māori roll. And the media deem this barely worth reporting on.
Make no mistake, if this law passes for Rotorua, it will eventually become the standard everywhere – for all Councils, and eventually for Parliament. Anyone who denies this is deluded. The Māori Party openly advocate for this.
This bill needs to be defeated. We need tens of thousands of submissions against it. You can make a submission here. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
Make no mistake, if this law passes for Rotorua, it will eventually become the standard everywhere – for all Councils, and eventually for Parliament. Anyone who denies this is deluded. The Māori Party openly advocate for this.
This bill needs to be defeated. We need tens of thousands of submissions against it. You can make a submission here. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines.
5 comments:
Submission made. But it won't make a blind bit of difference. Just like Maori Wards, Climate Change Commission, NZ History Curriculum etc, etc, etc.
Agree entirely. This is totally wrong. It will set a thoroughly bad precedent and will be very difficult to reverse. It is a fundamental principle of democracy that all votes count equally, or as nearly so as possible. National should clearly state that if elected they will restore that principle. (Incidentally, a glaring contradiction of this is the election for that of the President of the U S. Twice in the last six elections the winner of the people’s vote has been denied office through the Electoral College.) Ewan McGregor
I also have made submissions in the past and it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Two things would make a difference;
changing the current crop of politicians and bringing in Swiss Style Direct Democracy.
It's a pity New Zealand voters don't have the same gumption as Swiss voters.
Decades ago Swiss voters assessed that politicians were not reflecting their concerns and values. They did something about it over the objections of their politicians who no doubt considered that they were doing a terrific job and that things should stay as they were.
Today Swiss politicians think carefully before introducing controversial legislation because when push comes to shove the citizens can block it. Better to consult those affected first.
Less bother. Not rocket science!
Democracy being murdered.
Submission made and dissatsfaction with the present administration expressed.
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