May 2024
Tirohanga Whānui | Overview
The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on this amendment bill. We strongly challenge the kaupapa to reinstate the referendum requirements for Māori Wards, including those that have already been established. In addition, while we support the adjustment of statutory time frames to ensure higher rates of engagement with democratic proceedings, this is in direct opposition to the effect of the severely restricted time frame of this submission.
Taunakitanga | Recommendations
Our main points are:
Item One – Cease the amendment process to the Local Electoral Act 2001 and Local Government Electoral Legislation Act 2023 as it relates to Māori Wards and Constituencies
Māori wards were established to create equitable representation in Local Government, supporting Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the right to tino rangatiratanga. We strongly support this representation at local government level and oppose the restrictions that this amendment would place upon Local Government. This amendment contains no restrictions for the establishment of other Wards and Boards (Rural, Community, etc), indicating that this legislation is racially motivated and in opposition to Crown responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Waitangi Tribunal found, as of May 2024, that this amendment would result in multiple breaches to Te Tiriti. In addition, Mayors and Chairs of Local Government from across the country have joined to state that they do not support this overreach by Central Government into Local proceedings.
Item Two – Prioritise democratic engagement consistently.
We strongly support the proposed amendments that would allow the struggling postal service to
ensure that postal voting is sustainable and supported. This support for engagement in the
democratic process is heartening, but we find it concerning that this same sentiment of fair and
open participation is not seen in this submission process. Opening a submission on a Friday and
closing it the following Wednesday, providing less than four business days for response from the
public, is not in the spirit of fair and open participation in the democratic process. We encourage this select committee to reconsider their approach to submission timeframes in the future.
Ingoa whakapā | Contact Name
Nikki Hurst
Rachel Mackay