Maori Over-Representation

In the debate on whether one still needs the Maori seats in Parliament, few people believe me at first that not only are Maori no longer under-represented in Parliament, but they are over-represented by around 40%.

Of the 120 MPs in Parliament, 20 are Maori. This excludes MPs such as Clem Simich who are of Maori descent but do not self identify. So that is 16.7% of Parliament.

Stats NZ estimate that in 2001 (Census Year) there were 335,440 Maori
aged 18 and over, out of a total population aged 18 and over of 2,836,
070. This is 11.8% of the adult population.

There is of course nothing at all wrong with there being more Maori in Parliament, than their proportion of the adult population. But it certainly dispels the claim that you need the Maori seats, otherwise there will be almost no Maori in Parliament.