16 M Ä ORI REPRESENTATIO N IN LO CAL GOVE R N M E N T Labour MP Dover Samuels: The constitutional right of Mäori to elect Mäori members in specific Mäori electorates came from this Parliament. Our people out there in the constituencies, in the regional and district councils, ask for nothing more or less than the right to be able to exercise their democratic right in exactly the same way that we do in this House (ibid, p.33). Parliament passed the act in October 2001. Despite the dire predictions of some members about the prospect of racial division, Environment Bay of Plenty councillors and iwi seem largely to consider that the law has improved relationships and lessened division. Local Government Electoral Amendment Act 2002 The Local Government Electoral Amendment Act 2002 extended the option of Mäori wards or constituencies to all regional councils and territorial local authorities. As a result of the amendment, section 19Z of the Local Electoral Act 2001 provides that a territorial authority may resolve that its district be divided into one or more Mäori wards, and any regional council may resolve that its region be divided into one or more Mäori constituencies, for electoral purposes. The council must notify the public of their right to demand a poll of all voters on the question. The resolution takes effect for the next two triennial elections and continues thereafter subject to any further resolution or poll demanded by voters. Local Electoral (Repeal of Race-Based Representation) Amendment Bill In 2006, the National MP for Bay of Plenty, Tony Ryall, drafted a private member’s bill, the Local Electoral (Repeal of Race-Based Representation) Amendment Bill, which was drawn from the ballot and introduced to the House. In speaking to his bill, Tony Ryall said: The bill that I have moved and am debating tonight is a bill designed to repeal those provisions of local government law that provide for separate Mäori wards and constituencies in local authorities. At present, the Local Electoral Act provides for an option of separate Mäori wards and constituencies at district and regional council level, and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Mäori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001 mandates such seats in that region. If this bill passes, it will repeal the provisions of the Local Government Act that allow there to be separatist race-based legislation, or race-based seats on councils … and also remove the provisions of that Act in respect of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The outcome will be that there will be no racially based electoral representation in local government. When the previous government brought in legislation to provide for separate race-based wards in local government, the Labour Party hailed it as some sort of brave new world. Since that time, not one local community has chosen to set up separate race-based seats – not one local council has chosen to have separate race-based seats. The provisions are unused and they are already antiquated. They are not necessary and they are divisive. Those communities that even considered having separate Mäori representation soon found a complete lack of support in their communities for it, from all groups in the community, and they also found those seats divisive and completely unnecessary. The National Party view, which we enunciated in our election policy at the last election, is that race-based representation is no longer needed in New Zealand, either at a