Tauranga's Lacklustre By-Election Turnout Makes Case For Ditching Māori Wards
Press Release – ACT New Zealand
'In Tauranga's Mori ward by-election this week, less than 12% of eligible voters turned out. It means we have a new councillor elected with just 464 first-preference votes, Tauranga-based ACT MP Cameron Luxton says.
Responding to the results of Tauranga's Te Awanui Māori Ward by-election, Tauranga-based ACT MP Cameron Luxton says:
'Here's another reason to ditch Māori council wards:
'In Tauranga's Māori ward by-election this week, less than 12% of eligible voters turned out. It means we have a new councillor elected with just 464 first-preference votes.
'For comparison, in general ward by elections, 22% turned out in Hamilton East last year, and 42% in Ashburton in 2023.
'When we have Māori ward councillors with full decision-making powers, elected by just a handful of voters, it makes a joke of local democracy. It means some people's votes are more powerful than others.
'In Tauranga the situation is especially absurd, because in addition to Māori ward councillors, we also have unelected mana whenua representatives on Council committees.
'Thankfully ACT has brought back referendums on Māori wards. But councils shouldn't be introducing them in the first place. Local issues of rates and roads can be addressed without dividing the community by race. In fact, the council could heed the message of this week's by-election turnout, and simply take the option we've given them to remove the race-based ward without even having to go through a referendum process.
'Outside of Tauranga, ACT is standing candidates in this year's local elections, and ACT councillors will fight for equal rights, democracy, and the principle of 'one person, one vote'. I just wish we had more of these values at the table in Tauranga.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
43 minutes ago
- Scoop
Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer On The Longest Suspension In Parliament
This week, Parliament took the unprecedented step of suspending both Te Pāti Māori leaders - Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi - for 21 days. Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended for seven days - but had also been punished with a 24-hour suspension on the day over a haka all three had performed in Parliament, against the Treaty Principles Bill, in November. It is against the rules of the House for members to leave their seats during a debate - which all three did. Ngarewa-Packer told Saturday Morning that the 21-day suspension, which was seven times harsher than any previous sanction an MP has faced, was not proportionate. "I think the backlash from the public, nationally and internationally, validates that," she said. Previously, the longest suspension for an MP had been three days, given to the former prime minister Robert Muldoon for criticising the speaker in the 1980s. While New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the duration of the suspension would have been lessened if the Te Pāti Māori MPs had apologised, Ngarewa-Packer said that was never requested by the Privileges Committee. "What we have here is a situation where, and some are calling it Trumpism, we've been a lot more specific - we have an Atlas agenda that has not only crept in, it's stormed in on the shores of Aotearoa and some may not understand what that means, but this is just the extension of the attack on the treaty, on the attack on Indigenous voices. "We made the point the whole way through when we started to see that they weren't going to be able to meet us halfway on anything, even a quarter of the way, on any of the requests for tikanga experts, for legal experts when we knew the bias of the committee." Ngarewa-Packer added that the Privileges Committee process was not equipped to deal with the issue. "We hit a nerve and we can call it a colonial nerve, we can call it institutional nerve... "I think that this will be looked back on at some stage and say how ridiculous we looked back in 2025." Ngarewa-Packer also added that the language from Peters during the debate on Thursday was "all very deliberate" - "and that's what we're contending with in Aotearoa". "Everyone should have a view but don't use the might of legislation and the power to be able to assert your racism and assert your anti-Māori, anti-Treaty agenda." Peters had taken aim at Waititi on Thursday as "the one in the cowboy hat" and "scribbles on his face" in reference to his mataora moko. He said countless haka have taken place in Parliament but only after first consulting the Speaker. "They told the media they were going to do it, but they didn't tell the Speaker did they?" Peters added that Te Pāti Māori were "a bunch of extremists" and that "New Zealand has had enough of them". "They don't want democracy, they want anarchy," he said. "They don't want one country, they don't want one law, they don't want one people."
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
Suspended Te Pāti Māori MPs To Embark On National Tour
Te Pāti Māori says it will continue to stand its ground as three MPs begin their record suspensions. On Thursday night, Parliament dealt its harshest ever punishment by suspending co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer for 21 days, and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven. The trio were sanctioned for their actions during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill in November. Parliament's privileges committee deemed the haka the MPs performed could have "intimidated" others. Government parties supported the recommended suspension. Labour agreed they should face some sanction, but disagreed with the length of time the committee had landed on. Speaking to media after their suspension was handed down, the MPs said they planned to use their time away from the House to organise. "We're going to go home and show that we stood our ground," Ngarewa-Packer said. The party now has the Regulatory Standards Bill in its sights, and will use its time away to encourage supporters to make submissions against it. Party president John Tamihere told Midday Report the party was feeling "very chipper" and the co-leaders would embark on a national tour. "What we've got to do is just get out on our streets, in all our pā up and down the country, activate, organise and that's where we're going now." Accusing Parliament of being a "very unhealthy place" for Māori, Tamihere said the MPs would apologise once it was made clear what they would be apologising for. "If you're saying we should apologise for bringing the tikanga that displays our reo, which is the haka, into the House... see, we're not here to just appear for tourists. We're not here to start a rugby game, you know? "We are here to display and practice who we are and what we are. We do that 24/7, and we don't do it because somebody says, 'No, when you walk in that Parliament you've got to stop being a Māori,' for goodness sake." Waititi said there were "many tools in the tikanga basket" when it came to opposing further legislation. "It will be deemed, and probably sanctioned, by tipuna who guide us in our wairua, in our ngākau, and the people who guide us outside. They sent us in to be the unapologetic Māori voice. Māori voice means that everything that we have in our kete kōrero will be used." He said Thursday's debate got "pretty ugly and sad", referencing Winston Peters' "scribble" jab at his mataora. "I would be ashamed," Waititi said. "If I was his mokopuna, to look over those clips and to hear him denigrate not only something that was handed down by his ancestors, but also him as a future ancestor the legacy he will leave for his tamariki-mokopuna. I'm saddened by that, but also I feel ashamed that his family have to wear that legacy." Peters agreed the debate was sad, though for different reasons - telling Morning Report Te Pāti Māori's behaviour was unprecedented and unforgivable. Disappointed by inevitable - former leader Te Ururoa Flavell, Te Pāti Māori co-leader from 2013 to 2018, said he was disappointed at the outcome, but it was inevitable. "Māori and haka, that is part of who we are and what we do, as an expression of a message. No different to giving a speech in the House and pointing the finger at people. You sort of think, where's the consistency here?" he asked. "Our people understand the protocols that go with various places. Our marae are run by tikanga and protocols about what you can and can't do. And we also know that there are consequences of actions, both for better or for worse. "That's never an issue - the issue here is when you line it all up, you'd say that the three MPs were dealt with very, very harshly and unfairly." Flavell said Parliament had come a long way from the days where MPs could not speak te reo in the House, but even that was hard fought for. He said Parliament allowed waiata and even Christmas carols, despite not being in the rules, but with an acceptance they were in the spirit of the occasion. "Really, can we get to a point in time to accept that Māori are tangata whenua of this land? Can we not get to a time and have a conversation about actually accepting that kaupapa Māori is okay in this land and in the halls of Parliament, for goodness sake, and to allow it to happen on appropriate occasions?" Flavell said a debate about tikanga in the House was long overdue, but said any debate must run alongside education. "I hope that we learn from the history and allow the debate to happen, but let's do it fairly, not in the sense of allowing every party to have their vehicle. That will move nothing, it will not move the dial, and we saw that yesterday, but allow actually, a debate to inform. "Hopefully, the committee that's digging into the whole issue of the Treaty of Waitangi will raise some of those issues. But let's have the debate. Let's allow a discussion on kaupapa Māori within the halls of Parliament, and that, I believe, will go a long way to settle some of these grievances that will not only have come up in the past, but are likely to come up in the future."
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Sunday Rally To Protest Outrageous Suspension Of 38 Disability Workers
Press Release – PSA The action comes after Te Roopu Taurima tried to introduce harsh terms of employment including restrictions on secondary employment and 90 day trials as well as a pay increase that fails to meet the increased cost of living facing these workers and … Disability workers will be making their concerns loud and clear at a rally at 2pm tomorrow to protest the suspension without pay of 38 workers at disability residential care provider Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau Trust. Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau Trust is the country's largest kaupapa Māori community disability provider. It operates residential whare in Te Tai Tokerau/Northland, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Waikato, Waitaha/Canterbury, and a residential mental health whare in Whangārei. The trust CE Karen Smith late on Friday afternoon gave notice of suspension of 38 workers who support people living at Te Roopu Taurima houses without pay for six weeks in response to low level strike action taken in support of their collective agreement. 'This is an oppressive over-reaction designed to intimidate and bully these workers. It's unheard of for New Zealand employers to adopt such a hostile tactic in these circumstances,' said Fleur Fitzsimons National Secretary Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. 'The strike action only involved not doing some tasks in order to try and put pressure on the employer to listen to these workers.' 'The trust has a vision to 'strive to place tāngata at the heart of our services', this shows the trust is not living its own values. 'Many of these workers are Māori, Pasifika, and migrant workers who deserve fair wages and conditions.' The action comes after Te Roopu Taurima tried to introduce harsh terms of employment including restrictions on secondary employment and 90 day trials as well as a pay increase that fails to meet the increased cost of living facing these workers and their whānau. The PSA and Te Roopu Taurima attended independent and confidential facilitation run by an Employment Relations Authority member in Auckland over four days. The Authority member then provided recommendations to settle the collective agreement. 'The PSA did not get everything we wanted but nevertheless agreed that we would recommend the outcomes to our members. Te Roopu Taurima was still not satisfied though. 'This is an insight into the future of industrial relations in New Zealand under this government. It has emboldened employers to try to take away the small number of remaining employment rights that working people have and use every underhand tactic they can to get there. 'Workers and the community must stand up and fight back.'
