Maori wards Bill pushed through under urgency

Parliament is set to hear the final reading of the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill today, ending the ability of a small minority of voters to force a binding referendum if councils try to create Māori wards.

New Zealand Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki says the current law has been divisive and allowed people to mount campaigns against Māori interests and rights.

He says despite the haste with which the Bill has gone through the house the issues had been debated extensively over the past decade, and thousands of people made written or oral submissions to the Māori Affairs Select Committee.

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