Matua Kahurangi: End the Māori seats debate properly with a binding vote

New Zealand First has done something most parties are too timid to do. They’ve put a hard, controversial issue back in front of the public and said you decide.

You would have seen last week that Winston Peters announced NZ First will campaign on a referendum on the future of the Māori seats ahead of November’s general election. That matters, because for years this topic has been treated like a political no-go zone, even though plenty of ordinary Kiwis have opinions on it.

But here’s the key point. A referendum that isn’t binding is just political theatre.

If the country is going to be asked to vote on something as fundamental as race-based electorates, then the result has to actually mean something. Otherwise, what’s the point. Voters will turn up, speak clearly, and then watch politicians wriggle out of it with the usual lines about complexity, division, process and timing. That’s how trust dies, one empty promise at a time.

So yes, NZ First is right to push a referendum. But to make it real, it needs to be a binding referendum. If it can be ignored, it’s a waste of time and money.

Winston’s argument is straightforward. The Māori seats once helped build a more representative Parliament, but in modern New Zealand, with record levels of Māori MPs across the House, the seats are arguably no longer serving their original purpose. Whether you agree or not, that’s a legitimate democratic question. It’s not hatred. It’s not racism. It’s the basic issue of whether our electoral system should remain race-based indefinitely when Parliament already reflects Māori voices through general electorates and party lists.

Most people reading this Substack already know where I stand. I’m fully against any race-based seats in Parliament. Not because I’m against Māori representation, but because I’m for equal citizenship. One country, one Parliament, one standard. People from all around the world have entered politics in New Zealand. We’ve got MPs with Mexican, Chinese, Indian and Filipino backgrounds, just to name a few. They didn’t need separate ethnic electorates to have a voice.

Māori have done the same. Māori are not shut out of power. Māori MPs sit in every major party. Māori ministers have held major portfolios. Māori candidates win general electorates. Plenty have got in on merit, and Māori are over represented more than ever, which makes the claim that separate seats are still required harder to defend.

National won’t even say where it stands, claiming the issue hasn’t been discussed in caucus. Labour says never, which is basically the default position of the political left. Don’t touch it, don’t talk about it, pretend it’s settled. That leaves NZ First as the only party currently prepared to take it directly to the people. I am sure that this is something ACT could get behind.

If NZ First is serious about giving the country a say, they should go one step further and commit to a binding referendum with a clear legislative pathway attached to the result. Let the people decide, then honour it.

Otherwise it’s just noise.

Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.