Advocacy group ActionStation says Māori wards have proven their worth, and bringing back referendums which can overturn them is divisive and racist.
The Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill is being pushed through parliament this week under urgency.
The Bill will force the local councils who have already voted to create Māori wards or constituencies to either disestablish the roles or take them to expensive and divisive referendums in next year’s local body elections.
Director Kassie Hartendorp says ActionStation surveys found people agreed referendums are harmful when it comes it issues affecting Maori.
Councils which created Maori seats for the last electoral cycle found they offered pathways to strengthen relationships with iwi and hapu, deepen engagement with Maori communities, and address historical inequity.
“One Maori ward councillor was the second Maori on council in 100 years in his region so this is an inequity that is being addressed through Maori wards and what we heard, and this is reflected in the Waitangi Tribunal, is that whole communities have benefited from Maori ward councillors’ contributions so it’s not just about Maori, it’s about all of us,” Ms Hartendorp says.
