The Government is restoring the rights of communities to determine for themselves whether to introduce Māori wards.
Labour attempted to force undemocratic Māori wards on communities that do not want them. They removed New Zealanders’ democratic voting rights because they believed voters couldn’t be relied on to vote the right way.
ACT has always said the decision of whether councils should establish Māori wards ought to lie with the communities themselves, not Wellington.
The legislation the Government is introducing will mean councils that have established Māori wards since 2020 without a referendum can disestablish them. If they don’t do this, citizens will be able to vote on them at the next local body election in 2025.
And as laid out in ACT’s coalition agreement with National, at least five per cent of voters will be able to require a local referendum on the establishment of a Māori ward on an ongoing basis.
On 1 News last week, Maiki Sherman tried to claim ACT wouldn’t get our way on this issue. But she was caught out by not checking her sources – a good lesson for someone recently promoted to political editor.
The consequence of Labour’s push for co-governance is that which group you belong to is more important than the dignity inherent in every individual person.; that there should be different laws for different groups, and you should be treated differently based upon who your ancestors were. These values are anathema to a democratic society.
As in many areas, ACT has been a strong voice in favour of going further and faster to immediately restore democracy to our local communities.
I hope you’ll continue to support our work.
 |  David Seymour ACT Leader | MP for Epsom |