Katene Rahui: Electoral Referendum Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Electoral Referendum Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:662;Page:10412] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 This week we have been proud to place on record the significance of sitting at the decision-making table. It has been a week to treasure the role that the Maori Party can play as the credible Maori voice in Parliament. That Maori voice is a voice that comes from a basis of strength—a voice that resonates with the words of all those who fought the good fight to enable our issues to be heard. Our current electoral system enables those voices to come in through the hallowed halls of Parliament. I think of some of those people who are now being given due honour and recognition through the Maori Party’s position of being able to advance the signing of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
I chose to begin my contribution to the Electoral Referendum Bill by acknowledging the impact of many individuals and the whanau hapu and iwi to which they belong. In recalling those who paved the way to the United Nations I seek to remind the House of the role that the Maori Party holds as the natural partner of the Government—the Maori partner that provides the means by which tangata whenua may be heard in this Chamber. The issue of Maori representation is so vital to our constitution and indeed to our nation that we have written into the terms of the relationship and the confidence and supply agreement between National and the Maori Party that there will not be a question about the future of the Maori seats in the referendum on MMP. I stand in this debate to respond to the legislation relating to the referendum on the electoral system with my feet firmly planted in the context that is our constitutional framework Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That is the strong legal basis and constitutional framework that the Prime Minister referred to this week in relation to the historic decision to support the declaration. 
How does this new bill on electoral reform the Electoral Referendum Bill relate to this constitutional context? I refer the House to the Ngai Tahu Waitangi Tribunal report of 1991 in which this statement was made “it is clear that the exercise of tino rangatiratanga like kawanatanga cannot be unfettered; the one must be reconciled with the other”. The Treaty provides us with the knowledge that as partners to the Treaty Maori should at least be guaranteed representation in the organs of kawanatanga. The Treaty is a document of duel accountabilities between two Treaty partners. In itself it is about the reconciliation of kawanatanga and rangatiratanga. 
The 1986 Royal Commission on the Electoral System expressed this view with great clarity: “Under the terms of the Treaty the Crown formally expressed the existing rights of Maori and undertook to protect them. It is in this sense that Maori people have a special constitutional status.” That report went on to note the failure of successive Governments to recognise and give effect to the Treaty as the basis of constitutional government in New Zealand. The report went further and made the important observation: “Although they were not set up for this purpose the Maori seats have nevertheless come to be regarded by Maori as an important concession to and the principal expression of their constitutional position under the Treaty of Waitangi.” 
I set out this context—a Treaty context—before we embark on the process of a referendum on the electoral system because I want to explain why we do not want to have the constitutional status of the Maori seats mixed up with all the issues that will be discussed in the review of MMP. Those issues of constitutional significance are not ones that can be dealt with in a quick and slick study or two or indeed in an electoral referendum. 
However there will be every opportunity to consider our constitutional framework within the context of the constitutional review that is also part of our relationship agreement with the National Government. The Maori Party brought to the negotiating table a policy goal to establish a constitutional commission in order to begin a constitutional review aimed among other things at the drafting arrangements that give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundation of our electoral system A Treaty-based constitution that recognises tangata whenua might encourage Maori to participate in elections but let us leave that for the broader discussion the longer conversation that the constitutional review will enable. 
I am proud to be a member of the committee that has been established to consider the legislation arising out of the referendum and the reform of the electoral finance regime. Of particular interest to the Maori Party is the citizenship right of all New Zealanders to take up their democratic rights to vote and to contribute to the shaping of a new Parliament. 
I was interested in a presentation made by Colin James at the Official Statistics Forum 2010 which was held last month. He reminded participants of the need to focus on article 3 rights—the citizenship article—and in particular on full participation in society and the economy. It is his view that appropriate recognition of article 3 might imply State-guaranteed action to reduce inequalities of opportunity and to ensure that assistance works. In turn this might imply sensitivity to cultural and other differences including understanding and working with different world views. It was extremely timely to read this analysis and to think about the opportunities for Maori citizens to be full and contributing participants in the electoral system that we have today. 
As we all know the Maori turnout in general elections is much lower than the turnout for the general population. The number of votes cast in the Maori electorates in national elections is roughly 58 percent of the number of votes cast in general electorates. A focus on citizenship rights would inevitably force the question of why the electoral system is doing so badly and why it is failing to lift the Maori vote. 
This question is not a new one. In 1994 I was the instructing solicitor for a Waitangi Tribunal claim brought by Hare Puke and supported by the National Maori Congress the New Zealand Maori Council and the Maori Women’s Welfare League. Within the essence of that claim was the argument that the Crown has an obligation under the Treaty of Waitangi to protect the right of Maori to be represented in Parliament and that there are special needs in promoting Maori enrolment and education on this option. That claim is just as relevant 16 years on. How do we ensure that Maori representation is protected and that Maori citizens take up every opportunity to enrol to vote to vote to stand for Parliament and to be represented? 
Finally that claim has also gained traction through the status of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The declaration states that indigenous peoples have the right to participate fully if they so choose at all levels of decision making in matters that may affect their rights lives and destinies. We want to see an increase in Maori electoral participation and as part of that we expect that there may need to be new legal and administrative responsibilities for Government and electoral-related agencies in order to increase that participation rate. Maybe this could be done through improving the accuracy of the Maori roll improving measures to ensure that Maori enrol to vote or introducing an electoral education campaign to emphasise the importance and significance of voting. It may be that what is required is a focus on cultural awareness and responsiveness in the electoral administration system. 
We look forward to close analysis as the legislation relating to the referendum on the electoral system and the reform of the electoral finance regime unfolds. Certainly we are pleased to be part of such a significant opportunity to undertake electoral reform and to that end we support this bill.