Tuesday, 21 October 2014, 9:51 am Press Release: David Rankin
Kaumatua to organise petition to end Maori seats
Ngapuhi kaumatua David Rankin has announced that he will
be organising a nationwide petition to seek support from
Maori voters to end the Maori seats.
“These seats
are patronising”, he says. “They imply we need a
special status, and that we somehow have failed to integrate
into modern society.”
Mr Rankin also cites
history, pointing out that the seats were only ever meant to
be temporary, and that the Royal Commission on Electoral
Reform recommended that the seats be abolished if MMP was
introduced.
“Maori are already moving in the
direction of abolition,” says Mr Rankin. “Less than half
of Maori are now on the Maori roll, and the number is
falling. And to make matters worse, the turn-out in the
Maori electorates is the lowest of all the electorates in
the country. “
Mr Rankin describes the continued
existence of the Maori electorates as “an
embarrassment”, and plans to start circulating the
petition within the next three
months.
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