Māori ward U-turn ‘double standard’

The Government has been slammed after announcing plans that will make it far harder for councils to have Māori seats.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown confirmed the Government would be reversing the change to local government law that meant referendums could not veto or disestablish Māori seats.

When the Government passes legislation to allow referendums on Māori representation, Brown said that bill would also include a provision that every Māori ward established over the past few years would require a referendum to continue. These referendums would be held at the 2025 local body election. Opponents have called the plans “racist”. The Labour government made legal changes so it would be easier for councils to establish Māori wards. The establishment of Māori wards did not mean Māori voters had an extra vote. Instead, Māori could chose to vote in a Māori ward instead of a general ward for councils that opted to establish that option.

Local Government NZ president and Selwyn district mayor Sam Broughton said the move was a “complete overreach” by the Government. “Empowering local government to make decisions about their own communities is what this Government campaigned on and is not being delivered today. We have long asked that Māori wards and constituencies be treated like all other wards and the decisions be made at the council level.”

He called the plan a “skewed version of democracy that isn’t used to determine any other wards or constituencies, just Māori ones. “We say the Government needs to either apply them to all wards or none at all ... [It] risks the mana of our Māori elected members and their rightful, elected place on councils.