Maori seats

Few were surprised that National has announced it will not stand candidates in the seven Maori seats next year.

This is of course really the only decision one could make, after deciding earlier on a policy to abolish the seats, which were only meant to be temporary when established.

ALso as I blogged in March, one can hardly claim they are necessary because of Maori under-representation in Parliament, as in reality there are 40% more Maori in Parliament than their share of the adult population. And that doesn’t include Clem Simich or David Cunliffe 🙂

The stats are slightly changed now Donna has been evicted, but not significantly. Just down to 19 MPs now.

In the NZ Herald story on the issue, they also report that the latest polls show Labour will lose every Maori seat except Tamihere and Mahuta.