The number of guaranteed seats for Māori representatives on NZ councils will be cut by over 50%, after a divisive law change that required municipal councils to submit the future of hard-won Māori seats to a popular referendum.
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 assured Indigenous council member in local and regional authorities. Originally, councils were only able to establish a Indigenous seat by first putting it to a public vote in their area. Communities often spent years building community backing and urging their councils to create Indigenous representation.
To address this concern, the previous Labour government allowed local councils to establish a Māori ward without first requiring them to subject it to a popular ballot.
But in 2024, the right-wing coalition government reversed the change, saying communities should decide whether to introduce Indigenous representation.
The new legislation required local authorities that had established a ward under Labour’s rules to conduct decisive public votes alongside the local body elections, which concluded on October 11. Out of 42 local governments participating in the referendum, 17 decided to retain their seats, and twenty-five to abolish theirs – showing many regions opposed to guaranteed Māori representation.
These outcomes represented “a crucial move in reinstating local democratic control.”
Critics however have condemned the new policy as “discriminatory” and “against Indigenous interests”. Since taking office, the coalition government has ushered in extensive reversals to policies intended to enhance Indigenous welfare and political inclusion. Officials has said it wants to end “ethnic-specific” policies, and says it is dedicated to improving outcomes for Indigenous people and every citizen.
The results of the public votes were split down city-country divisions – most cities required to vote backed Māori wards, while countryside areas skewed heavily towards disestablishing them.
“It’s a real shame for the Indigenous seats that had recently been established – they’re only just starting to hit their stride.”
This year’s municipal polls registered the smallest electoral participation in over three decades, with under one-third of eligible voters casting a vote, leading to demands for reform.
The process had been “a mockery”.
Councils are able to establish other types of electoral districts – such as rural wards – without first requiring a community ballot. The disparate requirements applied to Māori wards suggested the government was targeting Indigenous inclusion.
“Well, they failed. Numerous localities have expressed strong opposition.”
This remark referred to the 17 areas that chose to keep their seats.
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