The separate Maori electoral role and seats should be abolished?

On average, everyone agrees with significant nonconsensus between 237 voters.

Reasons To Disagree

The Maori people are the tangata whenua of this land, it's original inhabitants and kaitiaki of it's resources. The only way to guarantee that this unique and inextinguishable right is recognised and represented in Parliament is to protect the Maori electoral seats.

I suppose if I was in your shoe I would be trying to oppress them too. But out of RESPECT for the tangata whenua (indigenous people of this country)that's their right to maintain or take it away, not for the ordinary NZer

"If Maori want Maori in Paliament, they can giver their vote to the Maori Party" The statistics of that is just ridiculous. The population of Maori these days is far less than any other culture in this country. If it were left up to our small vote alone we would barely get a voice at all. Wouldnt that be nice for all your 'middle' NZ'ers.

what other voice do maori have? whe should take pride in the fact we have treated maori marginally better than aboriginies and native americans etc were

MMP, a proportional electoral system, exists. Maori votes are therefore no longer needed.

I Maori had their own separate parliament then I would want to get rid of that but promoting their unique voice as part of the Parliament of New Zealand has got to be good. When no Maori enroll on the Maori roll then we won't need the seats anymore.

Perhaps we should abolish the non-maori seats insatead.

We made a pact to look after Maori when we settled here. Statistically they are a minority in numbers and because of this we must allow them a proportion of the seats in parliament. The moment we stop recognising Maori as important and crucial to our nation's identity, is the moment when we see other countries taking over. The cultural identity of this nation will be conquered forever. It's not just about Maori - it's about New Zealand.

Its sad but true - we need a special party to represent the minority though we SHOULD be equal, its a white system of government and it would others=wise be harder to get the miority races up there and voicing their opinions.

The treaty talks of self governance and this is how it happens.

Having a seperate party to represent Maori isn't ideal, but at this point in time I think it is necessary. The party doesn't so much represent Maori as a race but more as a culture and a community.

Eventually this may occur by consensus, but at the moment the Maori seats should remain until people agree that they are no longer needed to ensure representation

They need to be maintained as long as sufficient Maori want them. Under FPP they disadvantaged Maori by concentrating their largely Labour votes into 4 electorates which led to minority National governments. MMP has given those Maori who so choose a right which only Maori should abolish. If National and Labour feel threatened they have the option of a grand coalition. Might lead to some sensible policies for a change.

NZ has ans agreement with the Maori people. Unless you want to say all written agreements are worthless then NZ must live with the agreements of their predecessors.

I absolutely disagree with the abolishment of Maori seats. Minority groups often get denied access to the basic human right of equality. There NEEDS to be representation in governments for minority groups, and NZ is the country which must give consideration to Maori-as a minority group indigenous to this country. Representation of minority groups has wide reaching social benefits for all New Zealanders.

Reasons To Agree

No race should have their own special place in government, we should all have an equal place in society, and the maori population should not recieve special rights and privalages, as this is a form of reverse racism. It also develops conflict between Maori and Pakeha which can be observed every time the treaty and foreshore are bought up.

With the implementation of MMP and the existence of a Maori party, having special seats for Maori is completely unneccessary - if Maori want Maori in parliament, they can give their vote to the Maori party.

Maori and Part Maori New Zealanders are over represented in Parliament. Maori and part Maori took the first step to become "of age" by forming the Maori party. The second step is to abolish separate seats. N.Z.is part of Polynesia,as such we are all Polynesian.By all means identify with a ethnicity, and retain cultures. N.Z.is not a melting pot,it is a mosaic of nationalities ,and should ensure no-one is seen a diferrent or special.

Are Maori so weak as a race that they require special laws and priviliges for fear they may blow away in the wind? I hardly think so. Maori seats promote seperatism, not a good way to move a country forward as a unit.

No over-privileged representation should flourish in a democracy.

Anything that fosters the division the people of a country is not desirable.

MMP now sees 21 Maori MPs, the purpose for which the 4 seats were created in 1867, now no longer appears to be warranted. If a Maori offers my family and I a better vision for this nation than the shambles its in now, I will vote for them.

One can think of no valid reason for one sector having special favours.

We need more buttons on the agree side

y should they get special seats if people want them in they can vote them in

Maori electoral seats help the Maori, indeed they do; in much the same way that pro-business parties help business, and indeed, the pro-trade union parties help the trade unions. Do I need to make the negative nature of those points clearer?

yes, because under MMP maori should be competing for the maori vote and getting the percentage of seats their voters want them to have. The maori seats distort MMP, which is why the original Commission of Inquiry argued they should be removed.

There should be no distinction between maori and european NZ citizens, one person = one vote.

Maori do not need special treatment

Damn straight we are all equal. Its actually racsist.

Racism has no place in gummint!

I dont like maoris, they are rude and disrespectful. Why give them any preference against the hard working 'pakeha' of this country??

ONE VOTE, ONE ROLL, ONE NATION, why be seperatised!!!!!!!!!!?

At least ACT aren't PREJUDICE like National!

How can their ever be ONE NATION when there's TWO ROLLS. The Maori party would possible get 17 mps in parliment to help resolve the TREATY of WAITANGI, IF there was ONE ROLL. But 'I guess pakehas', aren't aloud to tactically VOTE for them, PITY! Why do they like to shoot themselves in the foot by allowing TWO ROLLS when it's their choice, isn't IT? Parliment or democracy IS about COMPROMISE, I'm surprised that the MAORI PARTY allow for this PREJUDICE. Having TWO ROLLS IS PREDUCING DEMOCRACY and burning the Maori parties ambitions, I thought the Maori party were formed to resolve TREATY GRIEVENCES, not to HELP NATIONAL PREJUDUCE DEMOCRACY? Mind you MMP is the JOKE!

I am part Maori and was on the Maori role until I realised that depending on the number on the role determines the number of Maori seats. To me this is racist. It shouldn't be about the colour of your skin, but about whether or not you can do the job. My grandmother was full blooded Maori, and it use to annoy her how a lot of Maoris felt that society owed them when they were just to lazy to get off their behinds. She as I do, believe that we are 1 Nation, 1 People.

Institutional racism should be abolished