National attacked over seat funding

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Extra funding for MPs in most Maori seats and some big general electorates is a Government gerrymander, Progressives leader Jim Anderton says.

The $40,000 boost, so MPs can hire an extra staff member, will go to all the Maori seats, except the urban Auckland seat of Tamaki-Makaurau held by Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples.

It will also apply to Deputy Prime Minister Bill English's Southland seat and three other National-held electorates; Kaikoura, West Coast-Tasman and Waitaki.

But Mr Anderton said the rules discriminated in favour of Maori seats.

They qualified for extra funding if they were bigger than 10,000 square kilometres, against a limit of 20,000 in general seats.

"I can think of no reason why a differentiation should be made."

National had been brazen by leaving out the biggest electorate, Rongotai, held by Labour deputy leader Annette King, which extends out to include the Chatham Islands.

The busiest electorate offices were in inner cities. "Imagine the outcry from National if Labour had given busier offices more," Mr Anderton said.

Labour MP David Cunliffe said it was "an outrageous screwing of the scrum" by National.

But Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee said the extra funding would go to six out of the seven Maori seats four held by the Maori Party and two by Labour and constituency seats covering a geographic area larger than 20,000 square kilometres. It would help them to better serve widely spread constituents.

He rejected suggestions it had been kept secret or that the Cabinet had extended a deal in its support agreement with the Maori Party to include general seats.

"This funding increase was clearly spelled out in the post-election agreement the National Party reached with the Maori Party."

It followed a recommendation in a March 2007 independent review. The Cabinet had made only one change, excluding Tamaki-Makaurau, Mr Brownlee said.

- © Fairfax NZ News