January 22, 2024
Māori seat entrenchment needed
The Independent Electoral Review has called for the entrenchment of Māori seats.
The final report of the review includes more than 140 recommendations, including holding a referendum on extending the term of parliament to four years.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government has already rejected some of its recommendations, including lowering the voting age to 16, allowing all prisoners to vote and stand for Parliament, and freezing the ratio of electorate to list seats, which would lead to extra MPs as the population increases.
The review said it found inconsistencies in the entrenched provisions, which can only be changed by a majority vote in a public referendum or by a 75 per cent vote in parliament.
Labour Māori MPs have been putting up bills to entrench the Māori seats, but have so far failed to get them passed.
The review said as part of upholding its obligations under te Tiriti o Waitangi, the crown should actively protect Māori electoral rights and provide equitable opportunities for Māori to take part in elections.
Decades of systematic breaches by the Crown have resulted in consistently lower rates of Māori voter engagement and participation. The Crown must do better.
It also recommended the Electoral Commission works with Māori to enable Māori governance over Māori electoral data, and that it is funded by government to do so.