Sharples wants special seats for Maori in Auckland

It is no surprise that Pita Sharples wants reserved seats for Maori in Auckland local government. I disagree of course in implementing more Fiji style representation. Sharples said:

“Like most places, Auckland’s record of choosing Maori through the ballot box is abysmal,” he said. “I could name lists of Maori people, national figures in anyone’s eyes, sporting icons, former MPs, leading academics and jurists, people with all the requisite skills, who have stood for council and been rebuffed.

Sharples should go ahead and release that list. Then it could be debated in context.

At the last local body election two Maori candidates for Mayors were defeated – John Tamihere and Willie Jackson. Now I actually supported both Tamihere and Jackson, but I don’t think anyone has suggested they got rejected because they were Maori. Is this what Sharples is saying?