Fewer List Seats Could Squeeze Māori Representation In Parliament – Expert

Pokere
Paewai Māori issues reporter

2023
set a record for Māori representation in Parliament with 34
MPs at the start of the term, making up around 28 percent of
Parliament.

While the makeup could change with the
special votes, at least 35 Māori MPs have been elected this
term – 27 percent of Parliament.

Associate professor
in politics at Victoria University Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi)
told RNZ the proportion of Māori in Parliament has
increased over the years, but has hit a ceiling in the high
20 percent range.

“Generally over the last couple of
Parliaments, we have tracked in that high 20 percent kind of
range. And so with the overhang, of course, the numbers of
Parliament change, so the percentages change, but generally
we’ve had a similar number of Māori MPs across different
elections, a similar kind of proportion.”

Māori
representation is also spread
across the entire political spectrum. Te Pāti Māori
is, of course, 100 percent made up of Māori, both NZ First
and the Greens are 50 percent Māori, and ACT is 23
percent.

National’s Māori MPs, like all its MPs,
entered Parliament via the electorates.

“There’s going
to be a real struggle within National now because they’re so
reliant on the electorate MPs. So someone has to get into a
winnable, a relatively safe electorate now to become a
National MP.

“And so what we’ve seen is that actually
the proportion that are Māori, generally they haven’t
selected Māori for those safe seats over time. People have
said, well, actually the list is where diversity comes
through,” Greaves said.

Labour will bring two new
Māori MPs into Parliament in Mananui Ramsden and Kingi
Kiriona.

“It’s going to be quite hard for political
parties now, especially the major parties, to make sure that
they have enough Māori talent coming through in light of
the fact that actually over time, they’re going to have
fewer and fewer list seats, where the list has been a great
mechanism to bring in more Māori talent and
diversity.”

Greaves said the percentage of Māori in
Parliament is tracking at almost double the share of the
population.

“But there are a lot of reasons for that
and there are a lot of people there that aren’t there to say
that they are Māori first and foremost, or representing
indigenous rights or anything along those lines.

“So
it’s a bit of a complicated picture, but definitely an
interesting case study, even internationally around
representation and what counts as representation for whose
interests.

“Other indigenous peoples around the world
are really trying to get any representation in their
national legislatures, in their parliaments, as a senator or
whatever it is. But yet, we’re kind of sitting here with,
you know, high 20 percent of our Parliament being Māori and
different types of Māori politics, Māori politicians
across the political spectrum.”

Greaves said it is
quite cool that there are a diverse range of Māori willing
to put their hands up for Parliament.

“The question
is, what is it about Māori that we want to go and be MPs,
we want to try to make the country better, according to our
own view of it, whether that is more conservative or whether
that is more mana
motuhake?”

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