A proposed law change to allow Māori voters to switch electoral rolls at any time has been announced by the Government.
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said allowing Māori voters to change rolls at any time "provides Māori with flexibility and promotes participation in New Zealand’s democracy".
"By removing the restrictions that currently lock Māori voters in their roll choice for two general elections, this change represents a significant improvement to a status quo that prevents Māori voters from fully exercising their electoral rights."
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said allowing Māori voters to change rolls "provides Māori with flexibility and promotes participation in democracy". (Source: 1News)
The change is expected to come into force in March next year.
"The current restrictions on timing and frequency of the option are unjustified, unfair, and often difficult to understand," Faafoi said.
The announcement came at almost the exact time Te Pāti Māori's Rawiri Waititi member's bill, which also proposed to allow the change between the Māori and general electoral rolls to happen at any time, was pulled from the Members' ballot.
Waititi previously referred to the current rules as "archaic, it’s discriminatory, it’s anti-democratic, it’s racist".
"There are only two opportunities for Māori to choose electoral rolls; either at the time of initial enrolment or during the Māori electoral option period, which takes place over a four month period every five to six years," he said in December.
"I was notified of a young man enrolling for the first time, only to see that the General Roll option was automatically filled in for him. This is no accident. The barriers in place are calculated to lock Tangata Whenua out from fully participating in our democracy."
The Government's proposed change would need 75% support in Parliament to pass, with National's Paul Goldsmith saying the party had questions about the time period prior to elections where people could change rolls.
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