Māori politics

Before the arrival of Pākehā (European settlers) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around communal units. A common misconception is that pre-colonial Māori governance was structured into the "rigid and static structural models" (p. 19)[1] proposed by early ethnologists, such as Elsdon Best (1934):

The tribal organisation of the Maori included three different groups – the tribe (iwi), the clan (hapu), and the family group (whanau).... The clan or sub-tribe was composed of a number of family groups, and the sum of the clans (hapu) formed the tribe. (p. 89)[2]

Twentieth century research "modified this model of tribal organisation, emphasising the role of the hapū ... as the largest effective corporate group which defended a territory or worked together in peaceful enterprises" (p. 19).[1] Therefore, it is now understood that hapū were responsible for administering resources, land, and important community buildings, and were also responsible for warfare (particularly maintaining the waka). The iwi typically functioned more as a federation than as an administrative structure.

Political leadership or governance in Māori society has traditionally come from two different groups of people – the Ariki and the Rangatira. The Ariki are "persons of the highest rank and seniority" (p. 58).[1] Ariki did not operate in simple hierarchical orgranisations; despite what later "government officers were inclined to believe", Ariki have never been "the apex of a structured hierarchy of institutionalised tribal authority" (p. 264).[1] Many positions overlap with Ariki holding multiple roles, including "head of an iwi, the rangatira of a hapu and the kaumatua of a whanau" (p. 197).[3]

The Rangatira are the hereditary Māori leaders of hapū, often described by Europeans as chieftains. They are typified by their "humility, leadership, diplomacy, generosity, integrity and honesty" (p. 4).[4]

Māori wood carving, ceremonial war canoe, Waitangi

A constitution for New Zealand between Māori and the British Crown was signed in 1835 with the drawing up and agreement of the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand. The Māori-language document is often referred to as He Whakaputanga. The full Māori name is He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni. This was a way for Māori tribal groups to assert their authority to the wider world and strengthen an alliance with Great Britain. He Whakaputenga partly came out of lawlessness amongst British subjects in New Zealand and on the British side was a response to French colonial competition.[5][6][7]

In 1840 The Treaty of Waitangi, signed between various Māori iwi and the British Crown, had the practical effect of transferring sovereignty to the United Kingdom. The Māori language version had a different intent in which the Māori who signed agreed share power and authority with the British Governor whilst retaining authority over their people and territories.[6]

As settlement increased, the colonists became increasingly vocal in their call for self-government, separate from Great Britain. Eventually, in 1852, the British government passed the New Zealand Constitution Act, establishing an elected New Zealand Parliament. Responsible government, where this Parliament had the authority to appoint Cabinet, was achieved a few years later. At first, Māori had little interest in the new Parliament, seeing it as a Pākehā institution with no real relevance to them. Later, however, there was an increasing desire by Māori to participate in Parliament – the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, coupled with ongoing land seizures, convinced many Māori that the "settler Parliament" now had a major impact on them, and that their voices needed to be heard in it.

In theory, there was never any law barring Māori from election to Parliament, nor barring them from voting. In practice, however, other laws made it virtually impossible. The major stumbling block was the property qualification, which required voters to own a certain amount of land. While Māori owned a large portion of New Zealand, most of this was held in common, not under individual title. As such, few individual Māori met the property requirement personally – even if they were part-owners of vast amounts of land, they did not have any land which they owned exclusively, and so did not qualify to vote.

In 1867, however, Parliament passed the Maori Representation Act, which created four special electorates for Māori.[8] These seats did not have a property qualification. The creation of the seats was controversial, being opposed by those Pākehā who saw Māori as uncivilised. It was also opposed by a small group which felt that by creating separate Māori electorates, Māori would be sidelined, as Pākehā politicians would not have to consult Māori opinion as they would if Māori voted in general electorates. There was also debate about the number of seats – if Māori had been given a number of seats equivalent to their population, they would have had around fifteen seats, not four. One of the more radical MPs in Parliament, James FitzGerald, actually called for Māori to be given a third of the seats in Parliament, but this was widely seen as excessive. In the end, the seats were approved based mainly on a desire to improve relations with Māori and reduce military conflict. The first Māori MPs took their seats in 1868.

It was intended that these seats would eventually be abolished as Māori abandoned traditional land ownership traditions. In the end, however, the seats were retained, and still exist today.[8] There have, over the years, been a number of attempts to abolish them, with a number of different reasons being given – some said that reserving seats was unfair, while others said that keeping Māori electorates separate meant that Māori were marginalised and ignored by mainstream politicians. Many Māori politicians defended the electorates, saying that they were necessary to ensure Māori representation in Parliament. Other Māori leaders, however, said that the seats were not required – there have been Māori politicians who have gained election in non-Māori electorates.

Maui Pomare, a member of the conservative Reform Party

Āpirana Ngata, perhaps the most prominent Māori politician

When Māori MPs were first elected to Parliament, there were no formal political parties in New Zealand. After the Liberal Party was founded, however, it gained the support of a number of prominent Māori figures. The most prominent Māori to serve as a Liberal MP was Āpirana Ngata, who rose high within the Liberal Party's hierarchy. Ngata is said by many to be the most prominent Māori MP ever, and he is featured on New Zealand's fifty-dollar bill. The Liberal Party did not have an exclusive control of the Māori electorates, however – Maui Pomare, another prominent Māori politician, was a member of the conservative and rural Reform Party, as were Taurekareka Henare and Taite Te Tomo. The Young Māori Party supported political action, but it was not a formal party.

In the 1930s, new movements began to arise in Māori politics. In particular, the Ratana church expanded its political participation, standing candidates for Parliament. In the 1935 election, Ratana won two of the four Māori electorates. The Ratana MPs did not remain independent for long, however – they quickly merged into the Labour Party, which they saw as best addressing Māori needs. By 1943, the Labour/Ratana alliance had won all four Māori electorates, establishing a pattern of dominance that many people thought was unbreakable. Among the most prominent Māori MPs in the Labour Party were Eruera Tirikatene, who was succeeded by his daughter, Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan – both represented Southern Maori in Parliament for several decades.

James Carroll, member of the Liberal Party

Despite Labour's dominance of the Māori vote, the National Party, Labour's main opponent, occasionally elected Māori MPs in general electorates. Ben Couch (Wairarapa) and Rex Austin (Awarua), were elected in 1975, the second and third Māori elected to a general seat (after Sir James Carroll in 1893). Winston Peters, elected to Tauranga in 1984 (he had previously stood for Northern Maori) is half Māori.

In the 1996 election, a major shift in Māori politics occurred when Labour lost all the Māori electorates (of which there were now five) to the New Zealand First party. New Zealand First, while not a Māori party, has a strong Māori wing, and its leader, Winston Peters (originally of the National Party), is half Māori. New Zealand First's clean sweep of the Māori electorates surprised many observers, who had believed that Labour's grip was too strong to be broken. In the 1999 election, Labour won all the Māori electorates back again, but the traditional Māori allegiance to Labour has been re-evaluated – Labour cannot, most observers say, simply take Māori support for granted.

Since the advent of the MMP electoral system, Māori representation in Parliament has increased – Māori are able to be elected as list MPs, bypassing the problem of securing an electorate. This has been particularly noticeable in parties which have traditionally contained few Māori – MPs such as Georgina te Heuheu in the National Party and Donna Awatere Huata in the ACT party are not likely to have entered Parliament without MMP, given the difficulty that their parties would face contesting the Māori electorates. At present, there are twenty nine Māori MPs in Parliament, with Labour taking all six Māori electorate seats after the 2017 election, which also saw the loss of all Māori Party seats. Māori make up around 24% of Parliament, with 8 Maori MPs in the National Party, 13 in the Labour Party (including the Māori electorate seats), 6 in New Zealand First, 1 in the Green Party, and 1 in Act.[9] The introduction of MMP brought further calls for the abolition of the Māori electorates, which many deemed unnecessary in the new system.

Despite the existence of the special electorates, Māori voter turnout has been consistently less than that of non-Māori.[10]

Throughout the history of Māori participation in mainstream parties, there have been those who argue that Māori cannot truly be represented unless they have a separate group. In recent years, with the resurgence of Māori culture, these calls have increased. In 1979, a Labour MP, Matiu Rata, quit the party to form his own group, saying that Māori could not succeed if they were simply a component of a larger group. Later, Tuariki Delamere would say much the same thing, claiming that "you cannot be accountable to Māori if your first allegiance is to a political vehicle that is owned and controlled by Pākehā." Tariana Turia broke from the Labour Party to co-found the new Māori Party, which won four of the seven Māori electorates in the 2005 election which were held by the Labour party, and a fifth Māori seat in the 2008 election. The Māori Party entered a confidence and supply agreement with the Fifth National Government in 2008 and two of its MPs became Ministers outside Cabinet in that Government. This government was dissolved after the 2017 Election, in which the Māori Party lost all their seats in parliament and all Māori Electorate seats were captured by the mainstream Labour Party.[11]

Below are some of the parties which have been based around Māori voters, or which are sometimes seen as such.

Mana Movement

Hone Harawira is a Māori activist and leader of the Mana Movement

The Mana Movement is a New Zealand political party led by Hone Harawira which was formed in April 2011 following Hone Harawira's resignation from the Māori Party. Hone Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party, and went on to retain this seat during the 2011 general election. The party lost its one-seat during the 2014 election. The decision to work with the Internet Party is largely blamed for the loss because of the concerns people had with Internet Party's founder, and financier, Kim Dotcom.[17]

Māori politics extends beyond participation within general elections. This includes government-recognised tribal organisations which have proliferated through the resolution of Treaty of Waitangi breaches and increased enthusiasm by Māori to receive and manage these returned assets. Māori also participate politically within iwi rūnanga, which are the governing councils or administrative groups for Māori hapū or iwi.[18] Often, these tribal organisations work directly with local government. For example, the Independent Māori Statutory Board who informs the Auckland City Council, as well as ensuring the Council's compliance with statutory provisions under the Treaty of Waitangi.[19]

• Customary right – right acknowledged (usually via the Treaty of Waitangi) as being a traditional right of Māori
• Hui – tribal gathering, conference
• Mana – prestige, honour, respect, dignity, integrity
• Mana motuhake – self-government, autonomy
• Kotahitanga – unity, co-operation
• Māoritanga – Māori culture, identification with things Māori, "Māoriness"
• Pākehā – people of European descent, non-Māori
• Rangatiratanga – chieftainship, sovereignty
• Rūnanga – tribal council, administrative board
• Te Tiriti – the Treaty of Waitangi
• Tangata whenua – "people of the land"; indigenous people, Māori
• Tikanga Māori – the Māori way
• Waka Māori – a Māori political vehicle
• Kaitiaki – guardian, trustee

• Polynesian Panthers

• Article on "Tōrangapū – Māori and political parties" on Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand