In every district where councils sought to create Māori wards ratepayers demanded a referendum on the issue, and in every district except Wairoa ratepayers made it abundantly clear – with overwhelming majorities – that they did not want racially-based wards.
Then along came another Labour Government but, unlike Helen Clark, Jacinda Ardern wasn't such a fan of accepting clear messages from the public. In 2021, Ardern's Government removed the right of ratepayers to demand a referendum.
Following this, thirty-two councils promptly created Māori wards in time for the 2022 local body elections, and 13 more councils voted to establish Māori wards as from the 2025 elections.
Thanks to the current Government's coalition agreements, the three governing parties passed legislation this year under which councils that had failed to allow referenda before the creation of Māori wards were allowed to rescind those decisions before 6 September 2024 or would be obliged to hold a referendum on the matter at the local body elections next year.
The result? Alas, of 45 councils only two – Kaipara and Upper Hutt – voted to reverse their previous decision.
The other councils decided – either from the arrogance of “we know best” or from fear of intimidation (and there were many angry scenes) – to stick with their earlier decision, and to hell with the extra cost.
I personally witnessed some brave councillors who argued strongly against race-based political representation but sadly they were in a minority.
This is not the end of the matter of course. There will now need to be 45 referenda around the country where ratepayers will be able to tell their councils, from the privacy of the voting booth, what they think of race-based political representation. Hobson’s Pledge will be campaigning next year to ensure that all New Zealanders get voted into office on merit, not on the basis of who their ancestors were.
Of course the same principle applies to Parliament. The logic of having separate Māori electorates has long since gone. The Royal Commission on the Electoral System in 1986, almost 40 years ago, argued that Māori electorates should be scrapped if we adopted the MMP electoral system because, they argued, that system would enable many Māori to be elected. And so it has proved to be: the proportion of Māori MPs in Parliament now well exceeds the proportion of Māori in the population, and 35% of the current Cabinet are Māori.
Three successive National Party leaders have pledged to scrap Māori electorates – Bill English, John Key and I – but nothing has changed (in my own case, I was never in a position to do so). But it is beyond time for this issue to be dealt with, especially when those elected in Māori electorates increasingly seem to reject the basic rules of Parliamentary democracy.
Choosing our political representatives on the basis of merit not on the basis of race will continue to be a major focus for Hobson’s Pledge in the years ahead.
Following this, thirty-two councils promptly created Māori wards in time for the 2022 local body elections, and 13 more councils voted to establish Māori wards as from the 2025 elections.
Thanks to the current Government's coalition agreements, the three governing parties passed legislation this year under which councils that had failed to allow referenda before the creation of Māori wards were allowed to rescind those decisions before 6 September 2024 or would be obliged to hold a referendum on the matter at the local body elections next year.
The result? Alas, of 45 councils only two – Kaipara and Upper Hutt – voted to reverse their previous decision.
The other councils decided – either from the arrogance of “we know best” or from fear of intimidation (and there were many angry scenes) – to stick with their earlier decision, and to hell with the extra cost.
I personally witnessed some brave councillors who argued strongly against race-based political representation but sadly they were in a minority.
This is not the end of the matter of course. There will now need to be 45 referenda around the country where ratepayers will be able to tell their councils, from the privacy of the voting booth, what they think of race-based political representation. Hobson’s Pledge will be campaigning next year to ensure that all New Zealanders get voted into office on merit, not on the basis of who their ancestors were.
Of course the same principle applies to Parliament. The logic of having separate Māori electorates has long since gone. The Royal Commission on the Electoral System in 1986, almost 40 years ago, argued that Māori electorates should be scrapped if we adopted the MMP electoral system because, they argued, that system would enable many Māori to be elected. And so it has proved to be: the proportion of Māori MPs in Parliament now well exceeds the proportion of Māori in the population, and 35% of the current Cabinet are Māori.
Three successive National Party leaders have pledged to scrap Māori electorates – Bill English, John Key and I – but nothing has changed (in my own case, I was never in a position to do so). But it is beyond time for this issue to be dealt with, especially when those elected in Māori electorates increasingly seem to reject the basic rules of Parliamentary democracy.
Choosing our political representatives on the basis of merit not on the basis of race will continue to be a major focus for Hobson’s Pledge in the years ahead.
Dr Don Brash, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2003 to 2006 and ACT in 2011. Don blogs at Bassett, Brash and Hide - where this article was sourced
3 comments:
Absolutely correct; it's overdue that these race-based seats were abolished. Martin Luther King Jr once had 'a dream' which the free thinking world once wholeheartedly embraced - except it seems now NZ, and those other deluded folk in the West infected by that pall of woke.
Don, perfect. We'll said.
Dr. Bras - I pick up your comment - "The other councils decided – either from the arrogance of we know best”.
From "my reading of the tea leaves", that across New Zealand many elected people, to a Council, once seated at the Council Table, decide- "they know best" and sally forth, to accomplish what they think is best (spending up large in the process) and before they possibly get unelected - create a 5 and/or 10 year plan for the incoming Council to pick and "run" with.
Me thinks that National Govt need to strengthen the Office of
Local Govt, with better powers on oversight of Council Plans, actions & finances. I believe they are there already, but when you look at the actions of some of our Councils, the "stick is not big enough". Maybe a National referendum on Maori Wards, first, might have given Councils the Public view on - should they and/or should they not.
I think the "horse has bolted" and any referendum in 2025 will be a waste of time.
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