150 years of M¯aori seats
It’s 150 years since four trailblazing Ma¯ori men became the first to enter Government office, writes Damian George.
Ta¯ reha Te Moananui did not waste time getting into his work. It was 1868 when the principal chief of the Nga¯ ti Kahungunu iwi used his maiden Parliamentary speech, the first by a Ma¯ ori MP, to boldly outline a gripe he had with the system.
Through an interpreter, Moananui took the opportunity to protest the Pa¯ keha-controlled Native Land Court, established in 1865, which made it easier for Pa¯ keha to buy Ma¯ ori land.
‘‘This is a grievance to me, the Ma¯ ori, but to some it is an advantage, because they become possessed of the lands of others.
‘‘I therefore ask you, the Assembly, to look into this matter, because I am not pleased with it.’’
Moananui’s journey to the orator’s podium in Parliament started in 1867, when four Ma¯ ori seats were established in the House of Representatives.
The seats were initially established for five years under the Ma¯ ori Representation Act, and gave all Ma¯ ori men aged over 21 the right to vote.
Until then, most could effectively not do so, as the elitist system required voters to own land individually, and many Ma¯ ori possessed communal land.
Moananui contested the Eastern Ma¯ ori seat and won the two-horse race in a show of hands on April 15, 1868, paving the way for him to enter Parliament.
Alongside him were Frederick Nene Russell (Northern Ma¯ ori), Mete Kı¯ngi Te Rangi Paetahi (Western Ma¯ ori), and John Patterson, also known as Ho¯ ne Paratene Tamanui a Rangi (Southern Ma¯ ori).
While Moananui was generally positive towards the Crown and how it had treated Ma¯ ori, he took umbrage with the Native Lands Act 1862, which allowed Pa¯ keha to rule on land ownership. Historian Judith Binney would later describe the act as an ‘‘act of war’’.
Paetahi was less combative in his address, simply thanking the Crown for giving Ma¯ ori an official voice.
‘‘I give thanks to the Queen, and to the Governor, and to the Ministers, and to all the chiefs of the Assembly [the MPs], for it having occurred to their minds to summon Ma¯ oris to Parliament.’’
Days later, Patterson, speaking in English, said: ‘‘It is my desire that I shall have a voice in matters introduced into this House, for the appearance of us who are called Ma¯ oris sitting here is this, we hear merely the words that are spoken, but we don’t know the meaning; we are like a post standing, having neither voice nor ears.’’
All four men served only one term in Parliament, ending in 1870, but their pioneering foray into politics would be the start of Ma¯ ori representation in government.
In reality, the events of 1867 were a modest beginning.
On a per capita basis, Ma¯ ori deserved 14 to 16 MPs, as opposed to the four they were granted, while Europeans had 72.
The arrangement was expected to be temporary, but the experiment was extended in 1872 and, four years later, the Ma¯ ori seats became a permanent fixture.
Despite numerous attempts to disestablish them over the years, they remain firmly a part of the political landscape.
But there was no denying the Ma¯ ori and European electoral systems were entirely separate.
From 1893 until 1975, only socalled ‘‘half-castes’’ (people with one Ma¯ ori and one European parent) were allowed to choose which seats they wished to vote in, and, up until 1951, Ma¯ ori also voted on a different day from Europeans, often several weeks later.
The secret ballot system, introduced in European seats in 1870, was considered unsuitable for Ma¯ ori, who continued to vote under the old verbal system until 1938.
There were also no electoral rolls for Ma¯ ori seats until 1949, because officials argued it would be too difficult to register Ma¯ ori voters because of difficulties with language, literacy and proof of identity.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the Ma¯ ori seats came in 1986, when the Electoral Commission concluded they had not helped Ma¯ ori and should be abolished should the mixed member proportional (MMP) system be adopted.
Ma¯ ori rallied to the defence of their system in the early 1990s and the seats were eventually retained when MMP was introduced in 1996.
From 1993, the number of Ma¯ ori seats became based on the electoral population, rising to five in 1996, six in 1999, and seven from 2002 until now.
The latest discussion around the need for Ma¯ ori seats stemmed from Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who threatened to campaign for a referendum on abolishing the seats in the lead-up to last year’s general election.
However, Peters eventually backed down on the plans, as his NZ First party pushed for a coalition deal with Labour.
Today, all four major political parties have leaders of Ma¯ ori descent.
Peters heads NZ First, Simon Bridges is leader of the National Party, Kelvin Davis is second-incommand at Labour, and Marama Davidson was appointed Greens co-leader last week.