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The number of guaranteed seats for Indigenous council members on New Zealand councils will be cut by over 50%, following a divisive law change that forced local governments to submit the fate of hard-won Māori seats to a public vote.

Background Information on Māori Wards

Māori wards, which can include one or more councillors based on demographic data, were created in 2001 to give Māori electors the option to vote for a guaranteed Māori representative in local and regional authorities. Originally, local governments could only create a Indigenous seat by first submitting it to a public vote in their area. Communities often devoted considerable time building local support and urging their councils to establish Māori wards.

Legislative Shifts and Administrative Decisions

To remedy the issue, the previous Labour government permitted municipal authorities to establish a Māori ward without first requiring them to subject it to a popular ballot.

However, this year, the right-wing coalition government reversed the change, saying local residents should decide whether to establish Māori wards.

Voting Outcomes

The coalition’s law change required councils that had established a ward under Labour’s rules to hold binding referendums alongside the municipal polls, which ended on 11 October. Out of 42 local governments taking part in the public vote, 17 voted to retain their seats, and 25 to abolish theirs – revealing numerous areas opposed to guaranteed Māori representation.

The results provided “a vital step in reinstating community self-determination.”

Critics nevertheless have condemned the government’s law change as “discriminatory” and “anti-Māori”. Since taking office, the current administration has implemented sweeping rollbacks to policies intended to enhance Māori health, wellbeing and representation. The government has said it wants to end “ethnic-specific” policies, and asserts it is committed to improving outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders.

Urban-Rural Divide

Outcomes of the referendums were split down urban-rural lines – six of the seven urban centers mandated to hold referendums backed Indigenous seats, while countryside areas skewed heavily towards removing them.

“It’s a real shame for the Indigenous seats that had recently been established – they’re just beginning to find their footing.”

Electoral Participation and Criticism

This year’s local government elections recorded the smallest electoral participation in 36 years, with under one-third of citizens casting a vote, prompting calls for an overhaul.

The process had been “a mockery”.

Differential Standards

Councils are able to establish different wards – such as countryside seats – without first requiring a community ballot. The different conditions placed on Māori wards indicated the administration was targeting Māori representation.

“Well, they failed. Numerous localities have given the government a middle finger response.”

This statement concerned the 17 regions that chose to keep their wards.