Parliament’s Ma¯ori seats established 150 years ago
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 so-called ‘‘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 New Zealand First party pushed for a coalition deal with Labour. Today, all four major political parties have leaders of Ma¯ori descent. Peters heads New Zealand First, Simon Bridges is leader of the National Party, Kelvin Davis is second-in-command at Labour, and Marama Davidson was appointed Greens coleader last week.