Post by Kiwi Frontline on Oct 11, 2018 5:27:49 GMT 12
TIME TO HAVE A SAY ON ENTRENCHING THE MAORI SEATS
Last month Parliament debated a Bill to entrench the Maori seats. It had been submitted into the Private Members’ ballot by Labour’s Rino Tirikatene, the MP for the South Island Maori seat of Te Tai Tonga. He wants to make it more difficult to abolish Parliament’s Maori seats by ensuring that a vote of 75 percent of MPs would be needed to get rid of them.
Submissions on the Bill have now been called. Labour is going around the country to drum up support, so in the interests of balance and fairness, I will outline the details here in the hope that you will not only consider putting in an opposing submission, but that you will encourage others to do so too.
In politics submission numbers really matter. If a bill ends up with overwhelming public support at a Select Committee, then those pushing it will claim the country is behind their cause. Given that New Zealanders have long insisted that the Maori seats have passed their use-by date, this is the opportunity to say so.
SUBMISSIONS CAN BE MADE on-line here tinyurl.com/y7t67a3t or emailed to the Maori Affairs Select Committee at ma@parliament.govt.nz BY 14 DECEMBER 2018.......
Dr Muriel Newman explains why you should make a submission here > www.nzcpr.com/time-to-have-a-say-on-entrenching-the-maori-seats/#more-27580
Last month Parliament debated a Bill to entrench the Maori seats. It had been submitted into the Private Members’ ballot by Labour’s Rino Tirikatene, the MP for the South Island Maori seat of Te Tai Tonga. He wants to make it more difficult to abolish Parliament’s Maori seats by ensuring that a vote of 75 percent of MPs would be needed to get rid of them.
Submissions on the Bill have now been called. Labour is going around the country to drum up support, so in the interests of balance and fairness, I will outline the details here in the hope that you will not only consider putting in an opposing submission, but that you will encourage others to do so too.
In politics submission numbers really matter. If a bill ends up with overwhelming public support at a Select Committee, then those pushing it will claim the country is behind their cause. Given that New Zealanders have long insisted that the Maori seats have passed their use-by date, this is the opportunity to say so.
SUBMISSIONS CAN BE MADE on-line here tinyurl.com/y7t67a3t or emailed to the Maori Affairs Select Committee at ma@parliament.govt.nz BY 14 DECEMBER 2018.......
Dr Muriel Newman explains why you should make a submission here > www.nzcpr.com/time-to-have-a-say-on-entrenching-the-maori-seats/#more-27580