John MacDonald: No Minister, this is not a win for democracy

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

How do you think I’m feeling about the Government's Māori wards bill passing its third reading in Parliament?

Which means any local councils which established Māori wards without asking residents first will have to hold a referendum if they want to keep them. The same for any other councils that might want to in the future, as well.

How do you think I’m feeling about that? I’m not feeling how Local Government Minister Simeon Brown is feeling. He’s saying today that it’s “a great day for democracy”.

I don’t think that at all. I think he’s over-cooking that one, big time.

I don’t feel the same way about it as Labour leader Chris Hipkins, either, who is saying that it’s “embarrassing”.

But I am despairing, because this is a piece of legislation dealing with something that hurts no one. Having a Māori ward causes no harm to anyone.

Now I know that some people think having a separate ward for Māori voters does cause some sort of harm. And normally they claim that it causes racial division.

And, if they want to think that, then I can’t stop them. But I would ask anyone who thinks that: what harm does it do to you, personally? Does it make your life any worse? Does the idea of Māori wards make you less likely to get ahead in life?

Does a Māori ward somewhere make the groceries, or the power, or registering the car more expensive? Does it make you more likely to get crook with a serious illness?

The answer to all of those questions is “no”. But, somehow, some people think Māori wards are a threat to democracy. Which is nonsense.

Because how can a constituency of people electing someone to be their representative on a council somewhere possibly be undemocratic? It’s not.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown is talking nonsense saying that forcing councils to have referendums before they can keep their Māori wards is a great day for democracy.

It’s not about democracy, at all. In the Minister’s own words on radio this morning, it’s about being anti-woke. Whatever that is.

It’s ideology and nothing else. Because Māori wards make no one’s life any worse - and getting rid of them won’t make anyone’s life any better.

And they will fade out because we know who the people are who bother voting in local body elections - because these referendums are going to be done at the same time as local body elections.

We know already, don’t we, what the results of these referendums are going to be because —generally— the people who can be bothered voting in their local council elections tend to sing from the same anti-woke songsheet as Simeon Brown.

What’s more, if the Government is going to sell its Māori ward legislation as a win for democracy, and if councils are now going to have to ask ratepayers for permission before they can keep or set-up a Māori ward, then they should also have to ask for public permission to do anything else they want to do, as well.

Now that would be democracy. But that’s not happening. Which is why it’s complete nonsense for the Government to claim that its crackdown on councils setting up Māori wards without asking for public approval first is a win for democracy.

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