Waatea News Column: Mutilating the Māori wards another kick in the face

The decision by this Government to overrule local democracy by demanding new referendums on existing Māori Wards is nothing short of the lowest type of politics.

The hypocrisy of re-litigating existing Māori Wards under the guise of strengthening local democracy is Orwellian in its doublespeak.

No one is forced to adopt Māori Wards, they are decisions made BY locals elected into office. To demand current Māori Wards be forced to go back to referendum isn’t about strengthening local democracy, it is about weakening that local democracy!

This has nothing to do with strengthening local democracy and everything to do with using Māori as a political punching bag again!

ACT wants to take as much anti-Māori vote from NZ First as they can and are now endlessly pushing provocative race baiting policy that denigrates and attacks Māori political aspiration at every possible turn.

The needlessness and counter productive malice to rob Māori Wards that are already established just for the performance art of bashing Māori is jaw dropping in its spite.

Even Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has called the Government out by saying…

“The Coalition Government is removing decision-making from councils by mandating polls be run on Māori wards and constituencies alone,”

“This is a complete overreach by the government on local decision making.

“Empowering local government to make decisions about their own communities is what this Government campaigned on and is not being delivered today.

“The Coalition Government’s decision is also a complete distraction from the hard work to deliver infrastructure and the pressure on rates rises.

“We have long asked that Māori wards and constituencies be treated like all other wards and the decisions be made at the council level.

“Currently, councils can make decisions about the establishment of Māori wards and constituencies for themselves. No one is forced, it’s a choice by communities’ elected representatives. Councils make these decisions based on feedback from their communities and iwi representatives.

“Today’s announcement is a skewed version of democracy that isn’t used to determine any other wards or constituencies, just Māori ones. We say the Government needs to either apply them to all wards or none at all.

…which is an excellent point. No other wards are being targeted in this manner, no one else is being forced to hold another referendum on their existence, only Māori.

This is pure race baiting politics at its ugliest.

 

First published on Waatea News.