Majority rule

Waaka Vercoe asks why those who want to scrap separate Maori electorates don’t talk to him and others on the Maori electoral roll before calling for the abolition of those electorates. The answer is simple. Whether to retain Maori electorates is a decision for all New Zealanders, not just for those who happen to identify with the Maori part of their ancestry.

The Maori electorates were established in 1867 when only men who had property could vote. Because most property owned by Maori was communally owned, almost no Maori men were able to vote. The four Maori electorates enabled all Maori men to vote. They were intended to last for just five years, and became redundant in 1893 when all adults got the vote. Don Brash, Co-spokesperson,

Hobson’s Pledge Trust.