Blue Jackie: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
Blue Jackie: Local Government Law Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:3813] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I appreciate the comments of the Minister of Local Government about the bill—that it is tidying up inaccuracies—but I would still like to stand to speak against Part 3 of the Local Government Law Reform Bill which would allow regional councils or territorial authorities to establish Maori wards or constituencies. 
I have the greatest respect for the preservation of Maori culture but I cannot see the value of Part 3. The amendment is potentially divisive and I cannot see how it can add value to New Zealand society. New Zealand is very small. We have a population of only 4 million. I understand that we have approximately 10 regional councils and over 70 territorial authorities. We have separate Maori seats in Parliament and in an MMP environment they are redundant as we have the Maori Party with four members of Parliament. We have specific Maori representation on district health boards and a requirement for local authorities to consult with their communities and with iwi. 
As a medical practitioner and a person who has a health background I am very concerned about the disparity of Maori in respect of health statistics. Maori have appalling health statistics. They have appalling cancer statistics. That is really quite a scandal and it must be addressed. I accept fully the need for a separate Maori health strategy for Maori and I fully endorse a strategy to address the dreadful health disparities. But I cannot see for the life of me how separate Maori wards will add value or improve disparities. 
A law change to allow local bodies to set up special Maori-only wards will divide New Zealanders even more on the basis of race and that is quite appalling. With the so-called browning of New Zealand over time it will also become increasingly farcical as more and more New Zealanders will have Maori ancestry. 
If the reason for Maori wards and counsellors is that Maori do not fare well in local body elections then the reasons behind that need to be addressed—rather than our introducing the tokenism in Part 3. Establishing Maori wards does a disservice to Maori and serves only to hide the real problems. 
Part 3 in my opinion is patronising and offensive to Maori. The legislation is tokenism. It basically sidesteps the real issues of socio-economic inequities and it creates and perpetuates more issues for Maori with its idealism of the principles of the Treaty. Maori are not genetically inclined to be less likely to be involved in local body decision-making than any other ethnicity. The real reasons why they possibly fare poorly or do not put themselves up for office are socio-economic educational and aspirational. Maori are one of the biggest low socio-economic groups and if this Labour Government is so concerned about their participation then it should concentrate more on addressing the disparities of low socio-economic groups—not only Maori. 
The creation of separate Maori wards perpetuates the perception that Maori are somehow mediocre or inferior and need extra-special treatment. The legislation also perpetuates resentment against Maori as it will be seen as another case of special privilege being given to Maori when socio-economically the opposite is true. Tokenism devalues the worth of every hard-working Maori in the State sector as it casts doubt in people’s minds as to whether a person was hired because of their ethnicity or their competence. 
This Government’s objectives should be to settle all Treaty claims within 10 years unite the country and remove the redundant Maori seats—not create more seats. The bureaucracy and the millions of dollars that it would take to create Maori wards and elect Maori counsellors would be better spent on addressing the disparities that Maori face. The National Party’s blueprint is a way forward for all New Zealanders to move on to unite the country and not to hold back groups as this Government seems intent on doing. National wants to lift our living standards improve literacy and numeracy skills reduce welfare dependency stop racial separatism and ensure security. National wants to ensure that all New Zealanders are treated equally. 
In conclusion Part 3 of the Local Government Law Reform Bill will not unite New Zealanders; it will create and divide the citizens of New Zealand. It will not address the real problems of why Maori are not faring well in local body elections and why they do not put themselves up for office. It will not solve the issues; it is only a band-aid solution. The real problem has yet to be addressed which is the disparity the socio-economic issues that Maori people face. I stand and support the National Party values as the only way forward.