Labour is attempting to undermine democracy again:
National says it is "disappointed" the Government has ignored its concerns around a bill to allow Māori to change electoral rolls right up to election day, especially given it needs their support to pass.
Currently, Māori can only switch between the Māori and general electoral rolls once every five to six years during a four-month slot after the census, despite elections occurring every three years.
The last Māori Electoral Option was in 2018 and the next is due in 2024.
Proponents have labelled the process "racist" and contributing to low voter turnout, as if Māori are on the wrong roll it can take years to correct.
That's a bit rich when the seats are based on race.
The Māori Electoral Options bill as introduced would allow Māori to change rolls at any time, up to and including on polling day.
After going through submissions and the select committee process, MPs have recommended an exception be included around the timing of byelections to prevent "tactical" roll switching.
That's a very important exception.
Without it people could swap from the Maori roll or general, change the outcome of a by-election, then swap back for the next general election.
However, the Justice Committee - with a majority Labour MPs - did not go further in recommending an exception be included close to a general election, as proposed by National and Act.
The Bill will make the Māori Electoral Option a "continuous option", and is aimed to come into force in March 2023 in time for the 2023 General Election.
However, as it requires changes to the calculation of the Māori electoral population it also requires changes to the Electoral Act, which requires a 75 per cent majority or a referendum, meaning it would need the support of National to pass.
National's justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith said it was "disappointing" the Government had not addressed its concerns, especially given it would need their support to pass the bill.
Goldsmith said their main concern was about "tactical" vote switching.
Their submission suggested where the outcome of a person's Māori electorate might be a foregone conclusion, the General electorate in which they live might be highly marginal, or vice versa.
It's about maintaining confidence in the system and that everybody has an equal approach. We don't want one group to be able to pick and choose which vote will have the most impact," Goldsmith said.
The party was "disappointed" the Government made "no effort" to address their concerns, given the "desirability of bipartisan support for electoral law changes".
As is, the National Party said it supported the "status quo", allowing a rolls switch within a four-month period following each census.
Electorate boundaries are set by dividing the South Island population by 16 give or take five percent.
That's done so that all electorates have more or less the same population. Migration in and out of electorates does alter the population between censuses but that's very different from changes that could happen if people could swap between the general and Maori rolls at anytime.
Allowing people to swap between the rolls like that could substantially change the population in an electorate and the outcome of an election.
Gerrymandering is manipulating electorate boundaries to advantage one party.
This law change is a redefinition of gerrymandering.
It doesn't redraw boundaries but it does redraw the rules in a way that could advantage it and its supporters.
National has the opportunity to defeat the move by voting against it, stopping the 75% majority required for legislation to pass, and should do so.
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