National, with support from ACT, is seriously contemplating the repeal of Māori wards, a move that could decrease Māori representation in local government decision-making.
Established in 2001, Māori wards were introduced to guarantee Māori a voice in local government decision-making processes.
“New Zealand is one country and a democracy with one person, one vote,” National leader Christopher Luxon said.
“We’ve opposed [Labour’s law change] throughout the last Parliament. We don’t believe that that’s fair or democratic.”
Luxon referred to the 2021 legislative amendment that eliminated the provision for communities to veto the establishment of Māori wards via a public vote.
Asked about a National government’s potential action to roll back Māori wards, Luxon was clear, saying, “That’s been our view and our position.”
Act would repeal
Councillors can revisit the representation schemes of councils every six years via a representation review, as stipulated by local government law. This review, which includes mandatory public consultation, can either introduce or remove Māori wards.
The law says Māori ward seats need to mirror the proportion of Māori in a region enrolled on both the general and Māori electoral rolls.
ACT leader David Seymour voiced his stance on Sunday, declaring “ACT will repeal race-based Māori wards altogether”.
He criticised Labour’s approach, claiming, “Labour has been unapologetically undemocratic about local Māori representation”.
Seymour criticised Labour’s decision to discard the 5% veto capability, calling it an elimination of a “democratic provision”. He noted, “Labour deliberately engineered the law in order that some people will get elected based on who their great-grandparents were – not on what they do, but who they are”.
Three out of 24
“Not on the value and the dignity inherent in every individual person but on membership of a collective. Those are not democratic values,” Seymour said.
Data from the Tompkins Wake law firm highlights that from 2001 to 2021, of the councils that tried to establish Māori wards, just three out of 24 succeeded.
By the time of the 2022 local government elections, and following Labour’s reforms, 29 local councils and six regional councils had incorporated Māori wards.