Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jan 13, 2021 13:16:45 GMT 12
NOTHING DEMOCRATIC ABOUT RACE-BASED WARDS — DON BRASH
What we know is that almost wherever ratepayers are asked for their opinion on race-based wards, they give a very strong thumbs down (the only exception being Wairoa District Council).
What we know is that the number of Māori New Zealanders elected to local government has been steadily rising over the years, from 4.3 per cent in 2004 to 10.1 per cent in 2016, without the crutch of racially-based wards.
What we know is that in Parliament the number of Māori MPs considerably exceeds the proportion of Māori New Zealanders in the total population, with roughly a quarter of all MPs being Māori. The number of Māori MPs would fully reflect the share of Māori in the general population even without the long-outdated Māori electorates.
This time last year, the leader and deputy leader of the National Party, the leader and deputy leader of NZ First, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, the co-leader of the Green Party, and the leader of the ACT Party were all Māori, and only one of those was dependent on a Māori electorate to be in Parliament.
What that shows is not only that Māori New Zealanders are absolutely capable of winning election without the crutch of racially-based electorates, but also that Māori New Zealanders are no more homogeneous in their political views than other New Zealanders.
Some Māori New Zealanders have radical views; some Māori New Zealanders have more conservative views. In that, they are no different from all other New Zealanders, whether of European, Asian or Pacific Island ancestry.
Local government is primarily about issues like local roads, libraries, water supply, drainage and similar matters: it is entirely unclear why there would be a distinctive “Māori view” on any of those issues.
Mr Lander stated that the Treaty of Waitangi somehow mandated, or at least implied the need for, separate Māori wards. But that is self-evident nonsense.
The Treaty was not in any meaningful sense a constitution. It simply involved Māori chiefs ceding sovereignty to the Crown; being guaranteed in turn the ownership of their property; with the additional benefit that all Māori would have “the rights and privileges of British citizens”.
We are on a very dangerous path if we are attributing a separate constitutional status to those who chance to have a Māori ancestor – today, with ancestors of other ethnicities too of course. That path would take us to a very dark place......
www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/opinion/123925120/nothing-democratic-about-racebased-wards--don-brash
What we know is that almost wherever ratepayers are asked for their opinion on race-based wards, they give a very strong thumbs down (the only exception being Wairoa District Council).
What we know is that the number of Māori New Zealanders elected to local government has been steadily rising over the years, from 4.3 per cent in 2004 to 10.1 per cent in 2016, without the crutch of racially-based wards.
What we know is that in Parliament the number of Māori MPs considerably exceeds the proportion of Māori New Zealanders in the total population, with roughly a quarter of all MPs being Māori. The number of Māori MPs would fully reflect the share of Māori in the general population even without the long-outdated Māori electorates.
This time last year, the leader and deputy leader of the National Party, the leader and deputy leader of NZ First, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, the co-leader of the Green Party, and the leader of the ACT Party were all Māori, and only one of those was dependent on a Māori electorate to be in Parliament.
What that shows is not only that Māori New Zealanders are absolutely capable of winning election without the crutch of racially-based electorates, but also that Māori New Zealanders are no more homogeneous in their political views than other New Zealanders.
Some Māori New Zealanders have radical views; some Māori New Zealanders have more conservative views. In that, they are no different from all other New Zealanders, whether of European, Asian or Pacific Island ancestry.
Local government is primarily about issues like local roads, libraries, water supply, drainage and similar matters: it is entirely unclear why there would be a distinctive “Māori view” on any of those issues.
Mr Lander stated that the Treaty of Waitangi somehow mandated, or at least implied the need for, separate Māori wards. But that is self-evident nonsense.
The Treaty was not in any meaningful sense a constitution. It simply involved Māori chiefs ceding sovereignty to the Crown; being guaranteed in turn the ownership of their property; with the additional benefit that all Māori would have “the rights and privileges of British citizens”.
We are on a very dangerous path if we are attributing a separate constitutional status to those who chance to have a Māori ancestor – today, with ancestors of other ethnicities too of course. That path would take us to a very dark place......
www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/opinion/123925120/nothing-democratic-about-racebased-wards--don-brash