Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates. The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the West Coast. The reporting has … Read more
As the law stands, councils that have voted to establish Māori wards can have that decision overturned by a public referendum. It’s time for the legislation to go, argues Florence Dean. Aotearoa, we have a problem. A problem that lies in our local government legislation. The Local Electoral Act 2001 currently allows voters to demand … Read more
The Māori seats were electrifying to watch as the results rolled in on Saturday. Here’s what happened. Labour no longer has a monopoly on the seven Māori seats – for now. First-timer Rāwiri Waititi snatched Waiariki from one-term MP Tamati Coffey in a nail-biting neck and neck race, coming out ahead by only 415 votes … Read more
With the first of the Hui Pōti 2020 debates on tonight, Mihingarangi Forbes – who’ll be keeping those vying for votes in the seven Māori electorates in line – shares some words of wisdom. As one of my impertinent children pointed out this week, I have been a journalist since “LAST CENTURY” (they’re now grounded), … Read more
Annie Te One explains why embedding Māori representation in local government shouldn’t be such a big deal. After the next local elections, Tauranga City Council will join Wairoa District Council and Bay of Plenty and Waikato Regional Councils in being the only local governments with designated Māori wards. Debates over Māori representation in local government, … Read more
Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas denounce new poll results that very slightly contradict their opinions. The height of the summit for the National Party? A poll came out last week with Labour at 53%, and that was considered good news for Judith Collins and the Strong Team. Annabelle, Ben and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM put on the back foot over refugee quota, police reject pay offer, and some juicy local government drama unfolds in Cromwell. Plans to increase the refugee quota appear to be in jeopardy, after a public intervention from deputy PM Winston Peters, reports Newshub. Mr Peters set events … Read more
The Māori electoral option results are in, but for now we have more questions than answers. The results from the latest Māori electoral option process tell us something about how Māoridom views the Māori seats. Unfortunately, they don’t tell us enough about what we really need to know. And given the ongoing political debate around the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major US decision on weedkiller has NZ implications, ACT wants to abolish the Māori seats, and NZ and Saudi Arabia strengthen trade ties. Here’s a story from overseas that could have big implications for New Zealand. A jury in California has awarded a former school groundskeeper $289 … Read more
The ACT Party wants to abolish the Māori seats, and lower the number of MPs wholesale. Do they have any chance of getting it through? At the 2017 election, out of about 13,000 party votes the ACT Party picked up nationwide, 239 came from Māori seats. It’s fair to say from those numbers that the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Renewed call for a Māori seats referendum, Russel McVeagh report released, and the stoush between two leading NZers over a charity concert escalates. Acting PM Winston Peters has renewed and updated his call for a two part referendum on the Māori electorates. Radio NZ reports his comments made … Read more
Spinoff cheat sheet: For four months from 3 April, Māori can choose whether they want to be on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll. It’s an important decision that could influence the next election and the shape of our parliament. What’s all this then? Since 1975, Māori in New Zealand have been able … Read more
The Seven Sharp host has sneered at a regulator ruling that he misled viewers over the Māori Party. Here the Māori Party leader responds, via a letter to the guy in the red suit. A few months back, as New Zealand sweated in the election campaign sauna, Mike Hosking told it to his Seven Sharp co-host Toni … Read more
Auckland mayor Phil Goff talks tough on the need for a dedicated Māori seat on council. So here’s a cat to throw into the government coalition talks: the Auckland Council wants the new government to let them have a Māori ward, elected by voters on the Māori roll in the same way they elect MPs … Read more
The campaign for the Māori seats has been defined by drama and intrigue, with noble families protecting ancient fiefdoms and usurpers lurking around every corner like some kind of popular fantasy series. As of 19 September, 241,602 people were enrolled on the Māori electoral roll with the 18 – 24 group by far the largest … Read more
The party led by Te Ururoa Flavell and Marama Fox is at once clinging by a thread and on the brink of the balance of power. Morgan Godfery examines the crucial battlegrounds in the Māori seats Don Brash is waking each morning at 3am, cold sweat crawling across his face, and reaching for his iPhone. … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at issues in te ao Māori that aren’t as well known or understood as they should be. This month: the Māori seats. What are they for and who cares about them anyway? Made with the support of NZ On Air.