Allan Kiritapu; McKelvie IanELECTORAL (MĀORI ELECTORAL OPTION) LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingHon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Justice): I present a legislative statement on the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative—[Interruption] Order! Would those members leaving please do so quietly. That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I move That the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 3 November 2022.This bill responds to concerns raised in recent years about constraints on the right of Māori voters to choose between the general roll and the Māori roll. It provides Māori with flexibility and promotes participation in New Zealand's democracy. The Māori electoral option is a four-month period that occurs every four to six years where some voters can choose to move between the general and Māori electoral rolls. It is the only time when Māori voters can change their roll choice. The last Māori electoral option was in 2018 and the next one is due to be in 2024. This timing means that without changes being made Māori will be locked in to their roll choice for two general elections: the first in 2020 and then for the upcoming 2023 general election. In our targeted consultation the overwhelming response was that the current option creates barriers to participation in electoral processes. This is because Māori are unable to change the electoral roll they are on to reflect their electoral preferences leading up to an election. We heard repeatedly that the current arrangements are unjustified unfair and often difficult to understand. The bill reduces the barriers that exist when it comes to choosing whether a person wants to be on the general electoral roll or the Māori electoral roll. It amends the Electoral Act 1993 to implement a new continuous option model to allow Māori voters to freely exercise their right to choose their preferred electoral roll. This change does not introduce any electoral advantages to Māori; it simply allows Māori to more easily exercise their vote on the electoral roll which reflects their roll preference. It will help ensure a more workable and voter-friendly electoral system.I need to point out an exception to the new continuous model. In order to help protect against roll changes by election voting which does not reflect an elector's general election roll preference changing of rolls will not be permitted for electors who reside in an electorate where there is a parliamentary by-election during that period for that by-election. The recent by-election in Tauranga for example would have been just that kind of case. This exception will not however apply in the rare circumstance where a parliamentary by-election happens to take place during the period of the triennial local elections. This is to ensure that Māori voters can exercise their choice of roll preference for local elections separately from that for parliamentary elections.The change to a continuous model has important consequences for how the Māori electoral population and by extension the number of Māori seats are calculated. The bill amends the Electoral Act to decouple the calculation from their Māori electoral option and aligns it with the census but otherwise substantively mirrors the current methodology set out in the Electoral Act. This means that the Māori electoral population will be calculated based on numbers as at census day or where the census and the general election are in the same year 1 April in the following year.The Māori electoral population and the general electoral population which is calculated as the population from the last census minus the Māori electoral population is calculated by the Government Statistician. The Government Statistician then uses those calculations to determine how many Māori and general electorates there should be for the following two general elections. This information is then provided to the independent Representation Commission to conduct a boundary review which takes place every five or six years. During the boundary review the Representation Commission considers the Government Statistician's report alongside other factors such as existing boundaries community interests and public submissions. While the new date for calculation of the Māori electoral population necessitates some minor amendments to reserve provisions of the Electoral Act—in particular section 35 relating to boundary reviews—the intention of these provisions is retained.The decision of Māori as to whether they wish to be enrolled on the general roll or the Māori roll is not the same decision as to whether they wish to identify as Māori in the census. During engagement on the Māori electoral option there was a clear view that in order to be able to express their preferences in terms of candidates and parties they needed the ability to choose the electoral roll which best reflected those preferences without undue restriction.This bill is an omnibus bill. It also makes amendments to the Local Electoral Act to reflect the changes made to the Electoral Act and consequential changes to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act which are necessary to retain consistency with the Local Electoral Act. It is part of a broader programme to update New Zealand's electoral framework. In October of last year the former Minister of Justice the Hon Kris Faafoi announced an independent review of electoral law to ensure the rules remain fit for purpose and meet the needs of the next generation of voters. We have established a bipartisan independent panel of experts to undertake this review and I look forward to the active engagement of all members across this House in that independent review.Yesterday I was pleased to announce the Government's proposal to introduce an electoral amendment bill which further seeks to support participation in parliamentary elections and improve public trust and confidence in New Zealand's electoral system. This includes changes to the political donations framework to increase public disclosure about party funding and so improve the transparency of our political donations and loan rules. The bill also extends the overseas voter eligibility in light of the COVID-19 - related travel restrictions meaning more New Zealanders living overseas will be able to vote in the 2023 general election.I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill and to allow these changes to be brought into effect before the 2023 general election I propose that the committee report the bill back to the House by 3 December 2022 and complete the remaining parliamentary stages by 16 November 2022. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): The question is that the motion be agreed to.