Call to retain Maori seats in Parliament

Press, 9 December 1988, Page 4

Call to retain Maori seats in Parliament

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

Separate Maori seats in Parliament should be retained, a majority of the Parliamentary Electoral Law Committee has recommended to the Government. The committee’s chairman, Mr Richard Northey (Lab., Eden), said all but one of the Maori submissions made to the committee had recommended this.

It would be culturally sensitive for Parliament to allow Maori people the form of representation in Parliament they said they wanted, he said. There would be a statutory minimum of four Maori seats — their num-

ber bemg set on the basis of the number of electors of Maori descent who chose to go on the Maori roll, plus their children, using the same total population quota as was applied to general seats. “We have proposed that Maori representation be reviewed by Parliament if the Maori seats would otherwise fall below fear,” Mr Northey said.

The committee had also recommendeed that a special Parliamentary Select Committee be established to institute an inquiry about the longerterm definition and protection of Maori political and constitutional rights and the recognition of the Maori position under the Treaty of Waitangi.

“This will enable Parliament to address the ferment of ideas being expressed in both Maori and non-Maori communities on these vital constitutional issues.”

The report also recommended that Maori seats in Parliament become “entrenched” and so be incapable of repeal without a 75 per cent majority support or by referendum.

This was described as “wrong” by Mr Doug Graham (Nat., Remuera), a member of the committee.

It was improper to add a new entrenchment provision to the Electoral Act without also requiring a 75 per cent majority vote or referendum to put it there.