Electoral Commission figures show the number of overseas voters enrolled in M\u0101ori electorates rose from 6891 in 2023 to 11,511 by July 1.<\/p>\n
T\u0101maki Makaurau had the largest number of overseas enrolments, with 1920, while Waiariki recorded the biggest numerical increase since the last election, gaining 820 voters.<\/p>\n
Queensland-based enrolment advocates Rachael Marie Johnstone and Nicole Orzecki said they have seen a noticeable surge in M\u0101ori interest, particularly among younger voters.<\/p>\n
Ng\u0101ti Wehiwehi descendants Johnstone and her sister Orzeck have spent years helping wh\u0101nau in Australia understand their rights and navigate the enrolment process.<\/p>\n
Johnstone told RNZ that despite living and working in Australia for more than 20 years, she has maintained her connection to home.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always voted and have always encouraged my kids to do the same. Three of them are old enough to vote and they’re enrolled. It doesn’t matter where we are in the world, we know where home is.”<\/p>\n
After navigating the complex citizenship and voting entitlement process for their own wh\u0101nau, the sisters began using what they learned to help others do the same through events and online campaigns.<\/p>\n
“Most of the time, it’s just a matter of breaking things down into simple steps and cutting all the words and noise out. We share information relevant to communities here in one place.<\/p>\n
“I get so many people messaging to say, ‘I didn’t know I was allowed to vote’, and some will get stuck and message me, and I just guide them through or show them where to go next. It’s basic and simple, but it works.”<\/p>\n
Political upheaval driving participation<\/p>\n
![\"Ballot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/only-a-person-of-maori-descent-may-choose-to-be-enrolled-on-6OVJHGWWJJGALJETMKU4HXEHZ4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ballot boxes (file image). (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n
Johnstone and Orzecki believed the political battles playing out in Aotearoa had made more M\u0101ori overseas realise that opting out of the democratic process can have significant consequences.<\/p>\n
Orzecki said the political climate, greater mobilisation across te ao M\u0101ori and a changing Parliament had made politics feel more relevant.<\/p>\n
“If anything, I feel more activated in the most recent couple of years than I probably have my entire life,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Young people and women, young women, strong women, smart women with not just something to say, but really positive contributions.<\/p>\n
“I find it very inspiring.”<\/p>\n
She said her perspective of Parliament had changed from seeing it as an institution that, for many years, appeared dominated by older P\u0101keh\u0101 men.<\/p>\n
“Parliament was full of white old men for a long time. And that’s changed.<\/p>\n
“Now you’ve got young M\u0101ori women and men in that space who carry their identity with pride. They challenge ignorance, they speak a language that was beaten out of our people, and they raise and stand up for issues that I care about.”<\/p>\n
For M\u0101ori living across the Tasman, voting was also about retaining a say in the future of a country they or their wh\u0101nau may eventually return to, she said.<\/p>\n
“If I wanted to return to New Zealand, I can because I have a say in the shape of what the future looks like.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overseas enrolments across the M\u0101ori electorates has surged 67% since the 2023 election, with advocates in Australia saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4432,111,43,139,69,135],"class_list":["post-573621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-maori-issues","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573621","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=573621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}