WAATEA NEWS COLUMN: Will Māori vote for National/ACT and NZF again in 2026?

One of the eye opening results from the last election was the number of Māori voters who voted for National, ACT and NZ First.

In 2023, 22.14% of Māori voters voted National, 5.68% voted NZ First and 5.15% voted ACT.

That’s almost a staggering 35% of the Māori electorate who voted for this Coalition Government.

Now.

Perhaps many Māori didn’t appreciate just how extreme the anti-Māori and anti-Treaty agenda of National, ACT and NZF were going to be, or maybe they were fully aware and supported the agenda?

Māori of course, just like Pakeha, Pacifica, India Kiwis and Asian Kiwis are not political monoliths so expecting them to vote like one is a mistake, but the fact that almost 35% of Māori DID vote for such an anti-Māori agenda is an extraordinary political statement that the Left needs to ask some deep questions over because if Māori are actively voting against their own interests as blatantly as that, what is the Left missing in terms of what it is offering them.

2026 is shaping up to be the most important election in modern NZ history, if this Government win a second term, they will cement into place their anti-Treaty agenda and it won’t be moved for another generation.