For the health of our democracy, and in the interests of future generations, I urge you to make a submission to Parliament opposing the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.

This Bill has had its First Reading in Parliament, introduced by list MP Tamati Coffey, which I have summarised.

Please watch the short news video at Sky News.

The Maori Affairs Select Committee has set the closing date for submissions as Wednesday, 20 April 2022.

Here are the details for how to make a submission to Parliament.

Key points you may wish to make include:

“I oppose the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill and wish to be heard:
1. The model of representation seeks to provide co-governance under Te Tiriti and the Fenton Agreement although these obligations ended with Ngāti Whakaue’s “full and final settlement” in 1993.
2. The model of representation fails Article 3 of Te Tiriti which guaranteed that “the Queen of England will protect all the ordinary people of New Zealand and will give them the same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England.”
3. The model of representation will provide voter parity but will give those on the Māori Roll about 260 percent more voting power than those on the General Roll.
4. The model of representation fails to provide equal suffrage, a democratic right in the New Zealand Bill of Rights that guarantees that voter’s votes will have equal voting power.
5. The model of representation will not enhance the practical problem-solving capacity of the Rotorua Lakes Council or resolve the problems it is facing.
6. The model of representation will set a precedent for co-governance in local government across New Zealand based on ethnicity and divide citizens on racial lines.

Please call or email me if I can help you with this.

Reynold Macpherson
(07) 346-8553 or (021) 725-708