“Labour has quietly withdrawn the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill from Parliament. This is a win for ACT and democracy,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“ACT has consistently said that democracy means one person, one vote. Human rights are universal. Different political rights by birth is divisive, racist, and contradicts the Treaty’s call for ngā tikanga katoa rite tahi -the same rights and duties for all. We’ve done it even when copping the nastiest and most disingenuous abuse. This backdown is ACT’s victory.

“The bill was prepared by the Rotorua Lakes Council to allow it to have more Māori seats. Māori make up 28 per cent of voters in the area and the council is entitled to have a number of Māori seats proportional to the population under the Local Electoral Act 2001.

“The bill, sponsored by Tamati Coffey, would have allowed the council to have an equal number of Māori ward and general ward seats. Why this would be necessary in a multi-ethnic liberal democracy has never been made clear but Labour supported it through first reading.

“Liberal democracy matters. Every adult New Zealander gets one vote. Superficial characteristics like race, sex, sexuality and religion are not relevant to our rights. Being the first in the world to achieve that is New Zealand’s greatest political achievement.

“The Attorney General rejected the bill in April last year, finding that it would limit the right to be free from discrimination and cannot be justified under the Bill of Rights Act. It has taken the Rotorua Council itself to reject the legislation for Labour to finally withdraw it though.

“All of the good political movements of the past four hundred years have been about ending discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex and sexuality to treat each person with the same dignity.

“Getting rid of this bill is a victory for everyone who cares about equal citizenship.”

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