A parliamentary select committee has recommended the Māori wards bill go ahead amid strong opposition from its Labour members who say it will be intentionally harmful to Māori, breach the Treaty of Waitangi and lead to an system that is “structurally racist”.

The coalition Government’s Māori wards bill would revert the law back to the old rules for establishing the wards and require a binding referendum on wards that were established since 2020 without a referendum.

Parliament’s Justice committee has been considering submissions on the bill, and its recently released report stated the committee “recommends by majority it is passed” along with some technical amendments.

The committee is made up of four National MPs, three Labour MPs, one MP each from NZ First, Te Pāti Māori, Act and the Green Party.

The committee received 10,714 submissions with 172 presented orally. Submissions from 13,403 people were also made via the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Prior to the committee hearing in May, the coalition Government said the Māori wards bill would reverse “the previous government’s divisive changes that denied local communities the ability to determine whether to establish Māori wards.

“The Coalition Government’s view is that any decision to establish or disestablish a Māori ward is one that should remain with communities,” Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Labour: Move ‘harmful to Māori’

Labour party members of the committee opposed the passing of the bill, saying such referenda was “a very poor tool” for making representation decisions as they silenced the voice of minorities.

Returning to the requirement for referenda was “a return to a system that excludes Māori by design if not by intent.

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“While no (or few) voters will fill out their ballot with an intention to discriminate on the basis of race, we know that leaving the design of an electoral structure to a majoritarian vote will lead to a system that is structurally racist.”

Labour said local bodies should be left to determine what electoral arrangements best represent their communities and that Māori wards should be dealt with on the same basis as other wards, such as rural wards.

“The existence of Māori wards simply provides that, where those wards exist, Māori can choose to use their (single) vote to vote for specifically Māori representation at a local government level.”

Labour MP Ginny Andersen is one of the members of the Justice Select Committee. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Labour members said it was “disturbing that the Government has no regards whatsoever for its fundamental constitutional obligation to adhere to its Treaty obligations.”

The measure, they said, had been introduced without consultation with Māori, had been “rushed” in its pre-legislative steps and had a “shamefully short period” before the committee.

“Government agencies consulting amongst themselves is no substitute for genuine engagement.”

In the report, Labour went on to describe the process as “predetermined, closed minded and fundamentally a bad faith approach to lawmaking”, and in breach of the Treaty obligation to act “in good faith.

“A further obligation of government under the Treaty is a duty to actively protect - to take positive steps to ensure that the rights and interests of Māori are protected and promoted,” Labour said in the report.

“To now take a step calculated to reduce representation of Māori is intentionally and actively harmful of Māori and is diametrically opposed to the obligation to actively protect.”

Labour also referenced the cost that will be imposed on the local authorities for running the polls, which submitters told the committee ranged from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Finally, and quite probably most importantly, all of the evidence provided to this committee from local bodies, as well as many other organisations, established that local government is better off with increased Māori participation.

“Politically having a Māori voice at the decision-making table makes it much more likely that issues and pitfalls that might crop up with iwi and hapū are identified before they become problematic.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.