Race Based Seats are Racist

In a radically undemocratic move Jacinda Ardern’s Minister for Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta, has rammed through changes to our local body election laws removing the right to challenge the creation of separate Maori wards. Your Councillors can now vote to create race based wards and these decisions can no longer be challenged by ratepayer poll.

Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party are now wedded to cultural Marxist ideology dividing us along racial lines. Labour needed to change the election laws because time and time again New Zealanders, when given a vote, have rejected racial segregation. The new law abolishing the right to challenge Maori wards was retrospective, meaning that the hard work and voluntary donations of hundreds of volunteers to collect signatures challenging race based seats was wasted.

 We must do all we can to prevent these ideologues from doing even more damage to our social fabric.

Separate Maori Seats: What you need to know:

• Council decisions are largely concerned with roads, drinking water, sewerage, and amenities such as libraries. There is no reason why separate wards are needed for Maori ratepayers
• Creating separate Maori wards will force all Maori on the Maori electoral roll into the special Maori ward, limiting their choice of candidates
• Since we all have the opportunity to represent our community through democratic elections on merit, it is demeaning and patronising to suggest that Maori candidates need special assistance to be elected
• Councillors should make decisions on behalf of and for the benefit of the whole community. Separating ratepayers into "Maori" and the "rest of us" is divisive and will damage our communities

The following Councils have voted for or are considering voting to impose separate Maori wards, without letting the people who elected them have a say:

Gisborne City Council
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Kaipara District Council
New Plymouth City Council
Northland Regional Council
South Taranaki District Council
Taupo District Council
Whangarei District Council

Separate Maori wards will result in the election of councillors responsible only to people who claim Maori ancestry.

If you want to have your say, then please fill in our form by clicking on this link then print the form and mail it to PO Box 13,038, Mahora, Hastings 4120, or print and scan the form and email it to [email protected].

Councils which voted in favour of removing your right to vote of Maori wards:

The following local councils lobbied the Government to disable referenda petitions on Māori wards:

• New Plymouth District Council
• Nelson City Council
• South Taranaki District Council
• Rotorua Lakes Council
• Ruapehu District Council
• Taupo District Council
• Whanganui District Council
• Northland Regional Council
• Opotiki District Council
• Waikato Regional Council
• Wellington City Council
• Wairoa District Council
• Gisborne District Council
• Bay of Plenty Regional Council
• Hawke's Bay Regional Council Maori Committee
• Kapiti Coast District Council

You can find all these submissions here. Not a single local council submitted against the legislation.

What's ahead?

"If we are honoring Te Tiriti, we are looking at a co-governance structure and that is 50/50 representation"
Teri O'Neil, Councillor, Wellington City Council
Video submission, 19:45 - 25:38

Reference: "Local councils shouldn’t be appeasing Nanaia Mahuta"; New Zealand Taxpayers' Union 18 March, 2021