How are electorate boundaries worked out?<\/p>\n
The Representation Commission is an independent body that reviews the boundaries and names of electorates. Whenever a review of electorate boundaries is carried out, the commission is responsible for ensuring every electorate in the country has roughly the same number of people in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The commission has seven members, including one government representative and one from the opposition. When considering the M\u0101ori electorate boundaries, the chief executive of Te Puni K\u014dkiri and a M\u0101ori representative from the government and the opposition also join the commission.<\/p>\n
When was the last review and what did it change?<\/p>\n
Last year, the commission carried out its review based on 2023 census data and data from the electoral rolls as at April 1, 2024. This led to the boundaries of 49 general and three M\u0101ori electorates being adjusted and to the total number of general electorates reducing by one, in the North Island (South Island electorates are fixed at 16 to ensure representation for its sparser population). The population quotas<\/a> (provided by the government statistician) were set at 70,037 people for South Island general electorates, 69,875 people for North Island general electorates, and 74,367 people for the M\u0101ori electorates, and the electoral population of each of these had to lie within 5% of the quotas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Electorates are supposed to have roughly the same number of voters in, but there are various complicating factors, including that the South Island has to always have 16.\u00a0 The number of M\u0101ori electoral districts, meanwhile, varies according to the proportion of M\u0101ori who choose to be on the M\u0101ori electoral roll. There\u2019s a relatively complex calculation used when figuring out how many M\u0101ori seats parliament should have, referred to as the M\u0101ori ratio. Effectively, it boils down to the number of M\u0101ori on the M\u0101ori roll and the size of the M\u0101ori population: the more M\u0101ori on the M\u0101ori roll, the more seats in parliament set aside for M\u0101ori, but the size of the general M\u0101ori population is also taken into account.<\/p>\n There are currently seven M\u0101ori electorate seats in parliament. When the commission carried out its review<\/a> last year, the M\u0101ori electoral population calculation it used was based on data from the 2023 census. However, M\u0101ori population data<\/a> released in June 2025 showed an increase in the number of people who identify as M\u0101ori. The M\u0101ori electoral population is based on the M\u0101ori descent population<\/a> \u2013 not just those who identify as M\u0101ori \u2013 which historically sits about 10% higher than the M\u0101ori ethnic population.\u00a0<\/p>\n This means more than 1 million people in New Zealand have M\u0101ori whakapapa. The higher the M\u0101ori population, the higher the M\u0101ori electoral population is, meaning more M\u0101ori seats in parliament.<\/p>\n According to data released by Stats NZ on April 1 this year, there are more than 257,000 M\u0101ori on the general roll and more than 305,000 on the M\u0101ori roll. Based on the latest data, including population data from the 2023 census<\/a>, the latest enrolment data<\/a>, and M\u0101ori population estimates from Stats NZ<\/a>, M\u0101ori should currently have at least eight seats in parliament.<\/p>\n Currently, just over half of all eligible M\u0101ori voters are on the M\u0101ori roll. Based on current data, if all eligible M\u0101ori switched to the M\u0101ori roll today, there would be about 16 M\u0101ori seats in parliament.<\/p>\n The M\u0101ori seats remain a political football<\/a>. In January, the Green Party announced a bill<\/a> in the name of H\u016bhana Lyndon seeking to entrench the M\u0101ori seats. In February, New Zealand First announced it would be campaigning<\/a> for the abolition of the seats from parliament.<\/p>\n \u201cThe arguments for a separate franchise based on race have become irrelevant,\u201d Peters said in a statement<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n The M\u0101ori population is young and growing \u2013 a third of all those under 25 years old in New Zealand are M\u0101ori. This will mark a significant shift in the makeup of the country\u2019s voting population in coming years. By 2048, there could be as many as 20 M\u0101ori seats in parliament. Combined with a growing shift<\/a> of M\u0101ori joining the M\u0101ori electoral roll, it is likely the number of M\u0101ori seats in parliament will continue to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be completely undemocratic for the government to restrict M\u0101ori representation until 2032 when we are projected to have the numbers for nine or 10 M\u0101ori seats by then,\u201d Waititi said.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n Submissions on the bill closed last week and will now be reviewed by the justice committee, whose report back to parliament is currently due on July 6<\/a>. Submissions have not been uploaded to parliament\u2019s website yet, but the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties\u00a0has published its own<\/a>, which supports the stance of Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori, arguing the M\u0101ori electorates should be adjusted before every election.\u00a0<\/p>\n The seats remain as they are, for now. Any change to their number and the makeup of our parliamentary electorates seems unlikely to take place before 2032. At that point, the number of M\u0101ori seats in parliament appears likely to grow \u2013 if they still exist by then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A proposed law would prevent the number of M\u0101ori electorate seats from increasing until at least 2032. With…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[26380,42,201422,161047,43,135,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-389101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-atea","tag-headlines","tag-maori-electorates","tag-maori-seats","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Representation Commission delivers its final report last year (Photo: The Governor-General of New Zealand)
\nHow is the number of M\u0101ori electorates calculated?<\/p>\nTe P\u0101ti M\u0101ori holds five of the seven M\u0101ori electorates (Photo: Getty Images)
\nWhat does the future hold for M\u0101ori seats?<\/p>\n