Govt playing down high stakes policy battle over Maori seats
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National is playing down a high-stakes political battle between its support partners over Maori seats on the new Auckland council.
It has emerged that Local Government Minister and ACT Leader Rodney Hide told Prime Minister John Key in June he would resign as minister if the Government allowed any form of Maori seat on the yet-to-be-created council.
Cabinet had previously agreed in principle there would be no such seats, but at the June 3 meeting Mr Key had sounded him out on the possibility of Maori seats.
"It was a live issue and a prospect," Mr Hide said.
The Maori Party has been lobbying to overturn the Government's position and recent events show that Mr Key is seriously considering whether Cabinet should reverse its decision.
Mr Hide had told Mr Key that he could not compromise and still introduce the bill in his name, and would therefore have to stand aside.
He told journalists that this would mean he would likely resign from all of his ministerial portfolios.
"Oh I think if I resigned [as] minister of local government I'd probably resign everything."
Mr Hide had also assured Mr Key ACT would not threaten the stability of the Government and the confidence and supply agreement would remain in place.
His stance was not a threat, but a position of principle which Mr Key had to know about when decisions were made on the issue, he said.
Acting Prime Minister Tony Ryall said relationships between the parties were "great", but differences of opinion were not unusual.
"The coalition is going well, really focusing on the important issues facing New Zealand," Mr Ryall said.
"ACT's position is very well known to New Zealanders. . . but he is very solidly behind the Government."
Decisions on the Maori seats were yet to be taken, he said.
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples said Mr Hide should not stake his future as a minister on a single issue.
"I would hate him to feel he has to step down over one little detail, if Maori seats are created, because that is now a very real possibility," Dr Sharples said.
He called on Mr Hide to let Cabinet and Parliament decide the issue and then live with it.
Dr Sharples said he would be disappointed if Maori seats were not created, but he would stay on to advocate for Maori interests as a minister.
Labour accused Mr Hide of grandstanding to lift his party's low poll ratings, but he said he had not intended to make his stance public.
Mr Hide said he was disappointed an email from National MP Tau Henare had been leaked to TV3 in which it had been wrongly claimed Mr Hide had been threatening the stability of the Government when it enjoyed only 1 per cent support in the polls.
In the email, Mr Henare urges National MPs to back Maori seats, a reversal of its previous policy, saying there was public support for them.
Dr Sharples called on National MPs to listen to Mr Henare.
- NZPA
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The huge majority of silent NZ'ders agree 100% with Rodney Hide's stand against Maori seats on the Auckland Council. He is not a Winston Peters who had double standards and wanted a boost to his income by accepting a junket cabinet post outside the previous Loony Labour led coalition. Was Hone Heke chairman the Royal Commission that decided that Maori should have special seats on a City Council? The National led Government will do serious damage to it's self if it agrees to Maori seats, so much so that there would be a likely return of Loony Labour and Goofy Greens after the next election. Just what the Maori Party are angling for.
Too bad Rodney has no credibility. Maybe he should have spoke out about MP's rorting the housing allowances, but alas, we see his true colours.
Cant wait to see the considerable back of him.
Well done Rodney! A principled politician at last....but then you always were.From taking on the scum at IRD who were driving people to suicide to stopping dopey political schemes to waste hundreds of millions of taxpayers money you have stood out as a Kiwi with Mana and character...one of the rare few.
Maybe he is just finding a excuse to quit so he will have more time to go on Dancing With The Stars again??
If John Key is going to allow Maori seats, I will vote for Rodney Hide next election. As a migrant to New Zealand, I don't know why do we need to have Maori seats reserved. It's time for New Zealanders to move on, migrants are not here to live in New Zealand's past. We are here for New Zealand's future.
If Maroi seats are possible, maybe we shall have seats reserved for african migrants, or even Chinese mogrants. Because they are the minority - not Maori...
I'm not really to fond of the guy but I'd rather he threatened to pull out of the coalition instead.
That way the government couldn't even consider racial seating.
What is the benefit of Maori seats? Maori comprise 15% of the population; they can vote in their representatives easily through normal democratic means. Maori seats do not give Maori any more representation or other benefits than they would otherwise have. Maori seats serve only to cause controversy. I believe that the costs outweigh the benefits for Maori and Pakeha alike.
I agree with Rodney Hide. The idea of guaranteeing seats based on race is ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that anyone with even a modicum of intelligence would even entertain such a vacuous notion. Are Maoris incapable of earning the seats the same way the others do? Perhaps they are. Rodney Hide isn't being racist, but the idea of allocating a set number of seats based purely on race is blatant racism.
to Hatch #25
do you know anything about indigenous rights? many other countries have similar arrangements - Canada, the USA, Sweden and Norway
Maori deserve special representation because they aren't just any race, they are the first people of this country.
In the treaty Maori were given all the rights of British citizens, but they were also guaranteed the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands, estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess
calls of racism and apartheid are nothing but ignorance of our constitutional framework
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I think it might be a good balance to the council to have Maori seats. The rest of the council is likely to be made up of middle to upper class people focussed on savings and efficiency. The occupiers of the Maori seats might remind them its about people too.
And well, a chance to get rid of Rodney Hide is just added incentive.