In New Zealand politics, MÃÂori electorates, colloquially known as the MÃÂori seats (), are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of MÃÂori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is covered by both a general and a MÃÂori electorate; as of 2020, there are seven MÃÂori electorates. Since 1967, candidates in MÃÂori electorates have not needed to be MÃÂori themselves, but to register as a voter in the MÃÂori electorates people need to declare that they are of MÃÂori descent.
The MÃÂori electorates were introduced in 1867 under the Maori Representation Act. They were created in order to give MÃÂori a more direct say in parliament. The first MÃÂori elections were held in the following year during the term of the 4th New Zealand Parliament. The electorates were intended as a temporary measure lasting five years but were extended in 1872 and made permanent in 1876. Despite numerous attempts to dismantle MÃÂori electorates, they continue to form a distinctive feature of the New Zealand political system.
MÃÂori electorates operate much as do general electorates, but have as electors people who are MÃÂori, or of MÃÂori descent, (see ) and who choose to place their names on a separate electoral roll rather than on the "general roll".
There are two features of the MÃÂori electorates that make them distinct from the general electorates. First, there are a number of skills that are essential for candidates to have in order to engage with their constituencies and ensure a clear line of accountability to representing the 'MÃÂori voice'. This includes proficiency in , knowledge of , skills and confidence on the . Second, the geographical size of the MÃÂori electoral boundaries vary significantly from the general electorates. Five to 18 general electorates fit into any one MÃÂori electorate.
MÃÂori electoral boundaries are superimposed over the electoral boundaries used for general electorates; thus every part of New Zealand simultaneously belongs both in a general seat and in a MÃÂori seat. Shortly after each census all registered MÃÂori electors have the opportunity to choose whether they are included on the MÃÂori or general electorate rolls. Since 31 March 2023, MÃÂori electors have been able to change rolls at any time, except in the three months preceding a general or local election or after a notice of vacancy is issued for a by-election. Each five-yearly census and MÃÂori Electoral Option determines the number of MÃÂori electorates for the next one or two elections.
MÃÂori electorates were created in 1867 during the term of the 4th Parliament with the Maori Representation Act, drafted by Napier member of parliament Donald McLean. Parliament passed the act after lengthy debate, and during a period of warfare between the government and some North Island MÃÂori hapà «; it was seen as a way to reduce conflict between cultures. Its primary aim was to enfranchise MÃÂori who were indirectly excluded from parliament by the land ownership requirement that applied in New Zealand at that time. To vote, a person had to be male, a subject of the monarch, have title to land worth at least 25 pounds, and not be in prison. Very few MÃÂori qualified because of the property qualification â the land they owned was held in common and not by Crown grant: native title was not accepted as a way to assert a right to the franchise. Concern was raised that, indirectly, this ran contrary to section III of the Treaty of Waitangi which made all MÃÂori subjects of the monarch with corresponding voting and representation rights. The act originally agreed to set up four electorates specially for MÃÂori; three in the North Island and one covering the whole South Island. The four seats were a fairly modest concession on a per-capita basis at the time. Some MPs, such as James FitzGerald, regarded the concessions given to MÃÂori as insufficient, while others disagreed. In the end, the setting up of MÃÂori electorates separate from existing electorates assuaged the conservative opposition to the bill. The bill was intended as a temporary measure, giving specific representation to MÃÂori until the land ownership issue was resolved. However, the MÃÂori seats continued and have become a permanent feature of the New Zealand parliament.
The first four MÃÂori members of parliament, elected in 1868, were TÃÂreha Te Moananui (Eastern Maori), Frederick Nene Russell (Northern Maori) and John Patterson (Southern Maori), who all retired in 1870; and Mete Këngi Te Rangi Paetahi (Western Maori) who was defeated in 1871. These four men were the first New Zealand-born members of the New Zealand Parliament. The second four members were Karaitiana Takamoana (Eastern Maori); Wi Katene (Northern Maori); Hà Âri Kerei Taiaroa (Southern Maori); and Wiremu Parata (Western Maori).
The first MÃÂori woman MP was Iriaka RÃÂtana, who represented the Western Maori electorate. Like Elizabeth McCombs, New Zealand's first woman MP, RÃÂtana won the seat in a by-election caused by the death of her husband Matiu in 1949.
Currently MÃÂori elections are held as part of New Zealand general elections, but in the past such elections took place separately, on different days (usually the day before the vote for general electorates) and under different rules. Historically, less organisation went into holding MÃÂori elections than general elections, and the process received fewer resources. MÃÂori electorates at first did not require registration for voting, which was later introduced. New practices such as paper ballots (as opposed to casting one's vote verbally) and secret ballots also came later to elections for MÃÂori electorates than to general electorates.
The authorities frequently delayed or overlooked reforms of the MÃÂori electoral system, with Parliament considering the MÃÂori electorates as largely unimportant. The gradual improvement of MÃÂori elections owes much to long-serving MÃÂori MP Eruera Tirikatene, who himself experienced problems in his own election. From the election of 1951 onwards, the voting for MÃÂori and general electorates was held on the same day.
Confusion around the MÃÂori electorates during the 2017 general election was revealed in a number of complaints to the Electoral Commission. Complaints included Electoral Commission staff at polling booths being unaware of the MÃÂori roll and insisting electors were unregistered when their names did not appear on the general roll; Electoral Commission staff giving incorrect information about the MÃÂori electorates; electors being given incorrect voting forms and electors being told they were unable to vote for Te PÃÂti MÃÂori (the MÃÂori Party) unless they were on the MÃÂori roll.
In June 2022, the Justice Minister Kris Faafoi of the incumbent Labour Party introduced a bill to allow people of MÃÂori descent to switch between the general and MÃÂori electoral rolls at any time. At the time, MÃÂori were only allowed to switch between the two rolls every five years. To pass into law, the bill needed 75% majority support in Parliament. In addition, MÃÂori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi introduced a member's bill which proposed automatically placing MÃÂori on the MÃÂori electoral roll and renaming the "general electoral district" the "non-MÃÂori electoral district."
On 15 November 2022, the opposition National Party abandoned its opposition to the MÃÂori Electoral Option bill after the Labour Government agreed to allow people of MÃÂori descent to switch between the general and MÃÂori rolls at any time except the three-month period before general and local elections; giving the Government the 75% majority need to pass the bill into law. Te PÃÂti MÃÂori criticised the compromise, with Waititi and fellow co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer describing the changes as "second-rate" and a "half pie ka pai" respectively. Waititi's member bill had already been voted down in early November.
The Electoral (MÃÂori Electoral Option) Legislation Act 2022 came into force on 31 March 2023; allowing people of MÃÂori descent to switch between the general and MÃÂori rolls at anytime until the three-month period before elections. The Electoral Commission subsequently launched a campaign to encourage non-voters to register with either the general or MÃÂori rolls. For the 2023 New Zealand general election, the cutoff date was set at midnight 13 July 2023. By 3 July 2023, over 12,000 people had switched between the MÃÂori and general rolls; with 6,662 people shifting from the general to MÃÂori rolls and 5,652 switching vice versa. Political expert and academic Rawiri Taonui and journalist Tommy de Silva described that the increase of voters on the MÃÂori roll as a form of strategic voting that reinforced the relevance of the MÃÂori seats and MÃÂori vote to New Zealand politics.
By 11 July 2025, the Electoral Commission confirmed that almost 31,000 voters had switched to the MÃÂori electoral roll while over 25,000 first time voters had registered with the MÃÂori roll. By contrast, about 20,000 MÃÂori descent voters had switched to the general roll while 17,000 new MÃÂori voters had registered with the general roll. Commission chief MÃÂori advisor Hone Matthews credited the 2022 law change with removing a barrier for MÃÂori voters and boosting their electoral engagement. On 31 July, Te PÃÂti MÃÂori filed urgent High Court proceedings calling on the Electoral Commission, Ministry of Justice and the Ombudsman to investigate reports that MÃÂori voters had been removed from the MÃÂori electoral roll or shifted to the general roll without their consent.
There have been calls for the abolition of the MÃÂori electorates.
In 1953, re-alignment of MÃÂori electoral boundaries occurred. In the 1950s the practice of reserving electorates for MÃÂori was described by some politicians "as a form of 'apartheid', like in South Africa".
In 1967, the electoral system whereby four electorate seats were reserved for representatives who were specifically MÃÂori ended. Following the Electoral Amendment Act 1967, the 100-year-old disqualification preventing Europeans from standing as candidates in MÃÂori electorates was removed. Simultaneously, the act allowed MÃÂori to stand in general electorates.
In 1976, the National Government introduced the option for MÃÂori to decide whether to enrol individually on the general electoral roll or the MÃÂori roll. A large number of people (MÃÂori and non-MÃÂori) failed to fill out an electoral re-registration card that was distributed with the 1976 census, with census staff lacking authority to insist on the card being completed. This had little practical effect for non-MÃÂori, but it transferred MÃÂori to the general roll if the card was not handed in.
Hobson's Pledge, a lobby group founded by Don Brash, a former senior politician, advocates abolishing the allocated MÃÂori electorates, seeing them as outdated. Other parties' positions on abolition or reform are detailed below.
The National Party has advocated abolition of the MÃÂori electorates, though the party is not opposed to the seats. National did not stand candidates in MÃÂori electorate from the 2005 election through the 2020 election. Bill English, the party's leader in 2003, said that "the purpose of the MÃÂori seats has come to an end", and in 2004 party leader Don Brash called the electorates an "anachronism". National announced in 2008 it would abolish the electorates when all historic treaty settlements have been resolved, which it aimed to complete by 2014. In 2014 though, then-Prime Minister John Key ruled out the abolition, saying he would not do it even if he had the numbers to do so as there would be "hikois from hell". In 2020, party leader Judith Collins said "I am not opposed to the MÃÂori seats. The National Party has had a view for many years now that they should be done away with. But I just want people to feel that they all have opportunities for representation".
The ACT Party opposes the MÃÂori electorates. Its leader, David Seymour, has called for their abolition as recently as 2019.
New Zealand First whose "Tight Five" once held all MÃÂori seats, has advocated for abolition of the separate electorates, while emphasising that the decision should be made by MÃÂori voters. During the 2017 election campaign, the New Zealand First leader Winston Peters announced that if elected his party would hold a binding referendum on whether Maori electorates should be abolished. During post-election negotiations with the Labour Party, Peters indicated that he would consider dropping his call for a referendum on the MÃÂori electorates due to the defeat of the MÃÂori Party at the 2017 election. In return for forming a government with the Labour Party, New Zealand First agreed to drop its demand for the referendum.
In 2026 the party returned to campaigning on a referendum to abolish the seats, arguing they were racially decisive and no longer needed as a higher proportion of MPs being MÃÂori (27%), and four of the six parliamentary parties had MÃÂori leaders.
The party has not stood candidates in the MÃÂori electorates since the 1999 New Zealand general election.
From 1868 to 1996, four MÃÂori electorates existed (out of a total that slowly changed from 76 to 99). They comprised:
With the introduction of the MMP electoral system after 1993, the rules regarding the MÃÂori electorates changed. Today, the number of electorates floats, meaning that the electoral population of a MÃÂori seat can remain roughly equivalent to that of a general seat. For the 1996 election, the first under MMP, the Electoral Commission defined five MÃÂori electorates:
Major changes were made and a sixth MÃÂori electorate was added for the second MMP election in 1999:
Since 2002, there have been seven MÃÂori electorates. For the 2002 and 2005 elections, these were:
From 2008, Tainui was largely replaced by Hauraki-Waikato, giving the following seven MÃÂori electorates:
While seven out of 72 (9.7%) does not nearly reflect the proportion of voting-age New Zealanders who identify as being of MÃÂori descent (about 14.8%), many MÃÂori choose to enrol in general electorates, so the proportion reflects the proportion of voters on the MÃÂori roll.
For maps showing broad electoral boundaries, see selected links to individual elections at New Zealand elections.
Former MÃÂori Party co-leader Pita Sharples proposed in 2007 the creation of an additional Maori electorate, for MÃÂori living in Australia; there are between 115,000 and 125,000 MÃÂori in Australia, the majority living in Queensland.
As MÃÂori electorates originated before the development of political parties in New Zealand, all early MÃÂori MPs functioned as independents. When the Liberal Party formed, however, MÃÂori MPs began to align themselves with the new organisation, with either Liberal candidates or Liberal sympathisers as representatives. MÃÂori MPs in the Liberal Party included James Carroll, ÃÂpirana Ngata and Te Rangi Hëroa. There were also MÃÂori MPs in the more conservative and rural Reform Party; MÃÂui Pà Âm, Taurekareka HÃÂnare and Taite Te Tomo.
Since the Labour Party first came to power in 1935, however, it has dominated the MÃÂori electorates. For a long period this dominance owed much to Labour's alliance with the RÃÂtana Church, although the RÃÂtana influence has diminished in recent times. In the 1993 election, however, the new New Zealand First party, led by Winston Peters â who himself held the general seat of Tauranga from 1984 to 2005 â gained the Northern MÃÂori seat (electing Tau Henare to Parliament), and in the 1996 election New Zealand First captured all the MÃÂori electorates for one electoral term. Labour regained the electorates in the following election in the 1999 election.
A development of particular interest to MÃÂori came in 2004 with the resignation of Tariana Turia from her ministerial position in the Labour-dominated coalition and from her Te Tai HauÃÂuru parliamentary seat. In the resulting by-election on 10 July 2004, standing under the banner of the newly formed MÃÂori Party, she received over 90% of the 7,000-plus votes cast. The parties then represented in Parliament had not put up official candidates in the by-election. The new party's support in relation to Labour therefore remained untested at the polling booth.
The MÃÂori Party aimed to win all seven MÃÂori electorates in 2005. A Marae-Digipoll survey of MÃÂori-roll voters in November 2004 gave it hope: 35.7% said they would vote for a MÃÂori Party candidate, 26.3% opted for Labour, and five of the seven electorates appeared ready to fall to the new party. In the election, the new party won four of the MÃÂori electorates. It seemed possible that MÃÂori Party MPs could play a role in the choice and formation of a governing coalition, and they conducted talks with the National Party. In the end they remained in Opposition.
Similarly in 2008, the MÃÂori Party aimed to win all seven MÃÂori electorates. However, in the election, they managed to increase their four electorates only to five. Although the National government had enough MPs to govern without the MÃÂori Party, it invited the MÃÂori Party to support their minority government on confidence and supply in return for policy concessions and two ministerial posts outside of Cabinet. The MÃÂori Party signed a confidence and supply agreement with National on the condition that the MÃÂori electorates were not abolished unless the MÃÂori voters agreed to abolish them. Other policy concessions including a review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, a review of New Zealand's constitutional arrangements, and the introduction of the WhÃÂnau Ora indigenous health initiative.
Discontentment with the MÃÂori Party's support agreement with National particularly the Marine and Coastal Areas Bill 2011 led the party's Te Tai Tokerau Member Hone Harawira to secede from the MÃÂori Party and form the radical left-wing Mana Movement. During the 2011 general election, the MÃÂori Party retained three of the MÃÂori electorates while Labour increased its share of the MÃÂori electorates to three, taking Te Tai Tonga. The Mana Movement retained Te Tai Tokerau. Tensions between the MÃÂori Party and Mana Movement combined with competition from the Labour Party fragmented the MÃÂori political voice in Parliament.
In the 2014 election, Mana Movement leader Hone Harawira formed an electoral pact with the Internet Party, founded by controversial Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and led by former Alliance MP Laila Harré known as Internet MANA. Hone was defeated by Labour candidate Kelvin Davis, who was tacitly endorsed by the ruling National Party, New Zealand First, and the MÃÂori Party. During the 2014 election, Labour captured six of the MÃÂori electorates with the MÃÂori Party being reduced to co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell's Waiariki electorate. The MÃÂori Party managed to bring a second member co-leader Marama Fox into Parliament as their party vote entitled them to one further list seat.
During the 2017 general election, the MÃÂori Party formed an electoral pact with the Mana Movement leader and former MÃÂori Party MP Hone Harawira not to contest Te Tai Tokerau as part of a deal to regain the MÃÂori electorates from the Labour Party. Despite these efforts, Labour captured all seven of the MÃÂori electorates with Labour candidate TÃÂmati Coffey unseating MÃÂori Party co-leader Flavell in Waiariki.
Three years later, despite a historic landslide to the Labour party, MÃÂori party candidate Rawiri Waititi successfully unseated Coffey, returning the MÃÂori Party â now calling itself Te PÃÂti MÃÂori â to Parliament. Special votes raised Te PÃÂti MÃÂori's party vote from a provisional result of 1% to a final party vote of 1.2%, thus allowing co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, to enter Parliament as a List MP.
Following the 2023 general election, Te PÃÂti MÃÂori won a record six of the seven MÃÂori electorates, unseating Labour from all but one of the seats.
The scheme has inspired some policymakers as a potential solution for underrepresented indigenous peoples.
In 1995, MLC Franca Arena moved the Parliament of New South Wales to an inquiry and report on the idea of providing seats dedicated to people of Aboriginal background, modelled on the MÃÂori electorates, to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians in that parliament. The Standing Committee on Social Issues, of which she was not part, released a report on the merits of the system in November 1998. The report is said to have been well-researched, with a thorough discussion of the system's mechanics, and through which paths it could come to fruition. The NSW Government members, however, did not conclude the proposal appropriate and leaned towards other measures to facilitate Aboriginal representation.
Another report was released in 2003 by the Legislative Assembly of Queensland's Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee, as part of an inquiry on how to improve indigenous self-determination. The idea of dedicated seats in the State Parliament, while deemed to have potential to assist reconciliation efforts, was not recommended in the final report due to strong opposition from some members of the committee.