Two-thirds of Maori voters not on the Maori roll

Press, 23 June 1984, Page 2

Two-thirds of Maori voters not on the Maori roll

PA Auckland Almost two-thirds of Maori voters are not on the Maori roll and the Race Relations Conciliator, Mr Hiwi Tauroa, says this could mean that most opposed having separate Maori seats.

He believed the Maori seats should be abolished within 10 years. “Much is made by those already occupying positions of privilege and power that the Maori seats are another form of apartheid,” he said yesterday. “Carried to the ultimate, there is truth to the claim.”

Dissolution was not only necessary “but should be effected within the next 10 years,” he said.

Only 40 per cent of the 192,150 eligible Maori voters were on the Maori roll. “This means that 115,181 Maoris are either not registered or are on the general

roll,” he said. National and Labour say the seats will be retained until Maoris no longer want them.

“Forty per cent favour Maori representation, 60 per cent therefore may not. Does democracy, when politically convenient, mean the majority are to be ignored?” Mr Tauroa said.

In a pamphlet just released by the Race Relations Office, Mr Tauroa says a new system of representation must be adopted within the 10 years. “New Zealanders would benefit from a national electoral roll. But before this occurs, hard work is required to bring about a change in attitudes by the Maori and his pakeha partner,” he said. The pamphlet is the first in a series on the topic and is designed to encourage debate.