More Maori seats under Labour

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 8

More Maori seats under Labour

NZPA staff reporter Wellington Electoral changes proposed by the Labour Party would see an increase in Maori seats from four to five, said the party yesterday. It told the Royal Commission on the Electoral System that Maori representation in Parliament should be proportional to the Maori electoral population. This concept was crucial to the idea of democratic fairness, said the member of Parliament for Eden, Mr Richard Northey. “The number of Maori seats has not altered for 118 years. “At present, Maori people represent 9 per cent of New Zealand’s population, yet through the Maori seats have only 4.5 per cent of the representation in Parliament.” Under changes proposed by Labour, each electorate, general or Maori, wpuld average about 26,000 people, said Mr Northey. Using the 1981 census

figure of a Maori electoral population of 140,421, this would mean five Maori seats instead‘of four. Mr Northey said Maori representation should be retained as long as the Maori people so wished. “As the original tangata whenua, they have a special place in the New Zealand political system,” he said. “The seats are a recognition of this and represent a racial distinction rather than any form of discrimination. “Maori people face problems in welfare, education and employment distinct from those of pakehas.” Labour’s quota system would also mean an increase in the number of M.P.s from 95 to 121, said Mr Northey. Such an increase would give constituents greater access to their local M.P., he said. M.P.s would serve the needs of 26,000 people rather than the present average of 33,000.

The present average compared only reasonably with that of other countries, said Mr Northey. In Ireland, the ratio was one M.P. to 20,481 constituents. He said more increases in the size of the New Zealand Parliament would be based on rises in population recorded in the census. Mr Northey was helped by the Labour Party president, Ms Margaret Wilson, in presenting the party’s submission, which is still being heard. The commission, which began sitting last Tuesday and will resume next Tuesday, is chaired by Mr Justice Wallace. The other members are former Government Statistician, Dr John Darwin; a constitutional law expert at Victoria University, Professor Ken Keith; an Otago University political scientist, Professor Richard Mulgan; and a former research officer in the Statistics and Internal Affairs Departments, Mrs Whetu Wereta.