The following article was written by Casey Costello two weeks ago, as a reaction to the little known thrust of race-based legislation by MP Tāmati Coffey.

Public submissions close tonight, and can be accessed by clicking the image:

From Hobson’s Pledge:

New Zealand took a step closer to the destruction of democracy last night with the first reading of Tāmati Coffey’s Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill which would allow Rotorua District Council to allocate greater electoral power to those who chance to have some Māori ancestry, Hobson’s Pledge Trustee Casey Costello says.

“The Bill allocates three ward representatives to the 22,000 Māori Roll voters in Rotorua and another three to the 56,000 voters on the General Roll. This assault on the fundamental principle of one person, one vote is an outrageous rejection of New Zealand’s proud democratic heritage.”

“Coffey sent the Bill to the Māori Affairs Select Committee, which he chairs, and said he would seek to restrict the Committee’s time to consider the bill to less than eight weeks, instead of the usual six months. Coffey is giving the public only two weeks to send submissions to the Committee, showing further contempt for democracy and the New Zealand public.”

“Last week, the Prime Minister attempted to reassure New Zealanders that Labour was very clear on what co-governance means and was critical of other parties trying to turn co-governance into ‘something it was not.’”

This Bill codifies in law the value of a Maori vote as having greater worth and power than a non-Maori vote. This should be abhorrent to every New Zealander.”

“Hobson’s Pledge believes this is an appalling attack on democracy and will set a precedent for all councils. We will fight this legislation every step of the way to defend our democracy.”

“Labour’s agenda to have our wonderful nation divided by race is further exposed today. Māori, as recent polls confirm, are concerned with the same issues as all New Zealanders, being cost of living, housing, and health.

Instead of creating more of the division that only benefits the Māori elite, Labour should address those issues that all New Zealanders, Māori and non-Māori alike, say they care about more than who sits in which seats on councils”