Currently in the Auckland region, Māori comprise 24.3% of the population[1]. Local authority councillors are at present not required to state their ethnicity, which makes data collection and analysis difficult and could be seen as contributing to Māori invisibility in local government. Statistics prepared by Te Puni Kokiri suggest that in 2004, only 4.3% of elected councillors identified as being of Māori descent[2].
This presents issues relating to government legitimacy and a potential democratic failure. Dahl suggests:
“…if you are deprived of an equal voice in the government of a state, the chances are quite high that your interests will not be given the same attention as the interests of those who do have a voice”[3]
By using examples throughout history where specific groups’ interests were not taken account of due to their lack of representation, Dahl contends that a fundamental tenet of a fair democracy is adequate representation at governance level.
Building from this, if the new Auckland council is unrepresentative of its enrolled population, there is a risk that the interests of the under-represented section (such as Māori) will be ignored. There are also Treaty considerations surrounding Māori representation or lack thereof.
There are arguments, as raised during the Environment Bay of Plenty discussions that all interest groups (such as Forest & Bird, or the Institute of Engineers & Surveyors) should be given dedicated representation to ensure their interests are acknowledged[4]. These are valid arguments, under Dahl’s theory. However, these arguments go beyond the scope of this paper, which focuses on the opportunities and risks of Māori in the Auckland region being afforded dedicated representation, which as posited by Dahl, is one way of ensuring that a group’s interests are given attention.
Voter turnout as a whole in New Zealand’s regional council elections has been decreasing since 1989, when turnout was 56% of those enrolled. In 2007 only 43% of those enrolled to vote in New Zealand regional council elections actually voted[5]. This could be due to a perceived lack of representation or relevance to the electorate, which dedicated Māori representation could help address. Click here for voter turnout in Auckland local body elections 2007-2007 (opens in a new window).
For Risks & Opportunities At A Glance, click here.
For information on ‘technical issues’, such as definitions, click here.
For more information about Māori representation and Auckland specifically, click here.
For information related to opportunities created by dedicated Māori representation, click here.
For information related to the risks created by dedicated Māori representation, click here.
For other methods of indigenous minority representation, click here.
For news related to Māori representation in local government, click here.