The drive to have seats on councils and in parliament for only Māori raises questions about our democracy and the thinking behind apartheid.
Firstly, the problem that having race define the source of the MPs and the councillors means should we not have seats for Chinese, Filipinos, Europeans and Indians also?
Secondly, does this mean that MPs who have Māori ancestry should either stand down or only stand for Māori seats?
Thirdly, the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed that citizens of New Zealand were one people, i.e: equal.
Why is a group of citizens attempting to give special treatment to a racial group when we know apartheid causes civil dissension? Is being proud of being a member of one race a way of avoiding equality? The cost of making racism a part of democracy is an expense we can do without.
Trevor Ammundsen’s column, “Through the Portal” in a previous issue of The Informer, shows an attempt to agreeably raise public understanding of the local effect of this undemocratic issue. Well done!
