Media Statement

The Hon Tariana Turia
Maori Party Co-Leader | MP for Te Tai Hauauru
13 August 2012

Maori Party on the MMP Recommendations

The Maori Party has welcomed many of the Electoral Commissions recommendations on MMP, and is highlighting that more work needs to be done to protect Maori representation in parliament, and participation in elections.

Co-Leader of the Maori Party Tariana Turia said “We support a number of proposals made by the Electoral Commission in relation to MMP. Our particular focus has always been on ensuring that Maori representation and participation is further supported, and we are pleased that some of the recommendations put forward enhance that.”

“We are pleased to see the recommendation that the party vote threshold be lowered to 4%. We supported this move in our submission based on the fact that no Maori political party has ever attained 5% of a party vote. The Maori Party has always gained representation through electorate votes, however, our view is that Maori political parties should have a reasonable opportunity to succeed in either or both the electorate vote and the party vote.”

Mrs Turia said “the Maori Party made other recommendations in our submission on the MMP review which could have further enhanced participation and representation of Maori in elections. We recommended that iwi affiliation be recorded on the electoral roll; that no Maori electorate should have to cover both the North and South Islands, which would be consistent with the policy for general seats; and that Maori be automatically enrolled on the Maori roll as soon as they turn 18, with an option to come off it. We are disappointed that none of these recommendations were picked up.”

“We do support the recommendations to keep the status quo in relation to forming of political party lists; list candidates running in by elections; and candidates being able to stand on both an electorate seat and on the party list.”

“We see that there are some positives in what has come out of the Electoral Commission, and we look forward to hearing further feedback on the recommendations from our constituents” ended Mrs Turia.

ENDS

© Scoop Media