The Truth about Maori wards

Helen Clark's Labour Government (2001) introduced petition rights for Maori wards to protect voters against councils manipulating constitutional arrangements without mandates from their community.

When Local ElectoralAct (2001) introduced Maori wards because it involved changing the voting system to include the Maori roll, the same democratic constitutional safeguards were applied, mirroring Sections 27-34, which protected electors if councils decided to change the voting system between First Past the Post (FPP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV) without public consultation.

Maori ward petition rights, in Sections 19ZA to 19ZH of the Local Electoral Act, mirror those under Sections 27-34, enabling electors to challenge council's decision under district-wide referendum with five percent voter support, via a petition. Currently the result binds council for the next two elections.

Helen Clark's ‘direct-democracy' veto only applies in situations where councils change voting systems without community consultation by switching between FPP and STV voting, or introducing Maori wards.

If councils decide to change ward boundaries, amalgamate wards, or remove wards entirely to have councillors elected ‘at large', the voting system wouldn't be changed so no petition rights.

Under NZ democracy it's unconstitutional for governing bodies to change voting systems without public consultation -that's why Helen Clark introduced petition safeguards protecting Kiwis' democratic rights and that's what Minister Mahuta and Maori sovereignty activists now want scrapped.

R Paterson, Ohauiti

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