Aotearoa (New Zealand) has been lauded for including Indigenous representation in Parliament, setting an example for other democratic states that might want to elevate Indigenous voices within their government. Nonetheless, their commitment to maintaining fair political representation of the Māori remains rooted in a colonial geography that confines Indigenous sovereignty to the boundaries of Western liberal democracy.
The Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 established a partnership between the Māori and the New Zealand government, affirming the rights and recognition of the Indigenous people. Decades later, the 1867 Māori Representation Act formally codified Māori seats in Parliament and has since upheld Indigenous visibility in Kiwi politics.
However, while Māori political visibility has grown, their communities continue to face stark health disparities that reveal a gap between representation and lived reality. Despite the symbolic and legislative milestones, systemic socioeconomic disparities persist, affecting healthcare and quality of life for many Māori. Now with a conservative government in power seeking to silence their voice, there is growing concern that even these hard-won gains may be at risk, raising urgent questions about the true impact of political representation on Indigenous well-being.
Māori Integration into New Zealand’s Electoral System
For the Māori, political representation in New Zealand was hard-won. When voting rights were tied to individual land ownership, communal land ownership restricted Māori political participation and denied Indigenous political representation in Parliament up until the late 1800s. Constrained by a system that taxed them without giving them a voice, the 1867 Māori Representation Act responded to these challenges by establishing four parliamentary electorates specifically for Māori representatives, as NZ tries to resolve the grievances between the Māori and its settler colonial system.
Nonetheless, efforts to integrate the Indigenous population were undermined by official neglect.
The initial allocation of just four Māori seats in Parliament was widely criticized as inadequate, falling short of fair representation for a growing Māori population that warranted a greater share of political influence. This led to the adoption of a mixed-member proportional system (MMP) in 1986, allowing the Māori to retain their guaranteed seats, while also gaining additional seats based on electoral participation. Today, under the MMP system, the number of votes a political party gets indicates the number of seats they secure in Parliament. This empowers minority groups to amplify their voices through voting. For Māori, MMP expanded their representation, enabling them to better bring Indigenous issues to the forefront of policy discussions.
The results are positive, indicating that Māori participation and representation have grown with the MMP system. From five Māori members of Parliament (MPs) in 1996, Parliament now includes 33 Māori MPs, with the formation of the Māori Party in 2004, further cementing Māori representation in politics. Today, Māori MPs have formed various confidence and supply agreements with elected governments, guaranteeing financial and political support from the House. Conceiving a representative democracy that is reflective of New Zealand’s ethnic and age demographics, the MMP system encapsulates a spirited effort to integrate Indigenous voices into policymaking and democracy.
Continual Inequality
New Zealand has made substantial efforts to amend inequalities between the Māori and settlers by building and sustaining an inclusive political partnership intended to uplift Indigenous voices. Yet, data reveals persistent social and economic inequalities.
According to New Zealand’s 2024 Health Status Report, many Māori communities still live in socio-economically deprived areas of New Zealand, where access to affordable medication and health services is limited. Furthermore, the Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH) of these areas, referring “to the actions and practices of commercial entities…that have an influence on health outcomes”1 impact access and availability of healthy food options, increase the availability of tobacco and alcohol, resulting in health risks tied to poor diets. The report also showed that high costs prevent half of Māori adults from accessing dental care. This is particularly alarming, since smoking rates for Māori (28 per cent) are more than double the national average (13 per cent).
These statistics highlight an obvious gap in policy on national health coverage. To close this gap, the Māori Health Authority (Te Aka Whai Ora) was established in 2021 to commission health services for communities in need, and monitor performance in an attempt to reduce the inequities present in the system. However, New Zealand’s new government, headed by conservative Prime Minister Christopher Luxon since November 2023, abolished Te Aka Whai Ora in favour of a single, integrated health system. The new administration’s approach has sparked tensions, with Māori representation in government facing renewed challenges. Just this past Thursday, Māori MPs interrupted a vote on a bill to narrow the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi. In response, Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke ripped up a copy of the bill and led a haka, a traditional ceremonial Māori dance, in protest of the vote. Despite political pressures, the Māori leaders are demonstrating their unwavering resilience in defending their political rights, despite still facing their inability to be recognized outside the boundaries of liberal democracy and settler colonialism.
Edited by Jane Malek
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and they do not reflect the position of the McGill Journal of Political Science or the Political Science Students’ Association.
Featured image by IOC President Thomas Bach
- “Aotearoa New Zealand Health Status Report 2023 Executive Summary,” Health New Zealand, February 2024, https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Health-status-reports/TWO-5300-Health-Status-Report-Executive-Summary_visuals_P06_V1.pdf., 7.
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