Background and Historical Context
The Maori people have inhabited the land of New Zealand since the Archaic period (1280–1500) and they are known for their peaceful way of life (McArthur, 2017). According to Fox and Bretton (2016) the “Treaty of Waitangi” signed in 1840 between the Maoris and the European colonizers not only tried to integrate the cultural as well as the social heritage of these people into the mainland culture of the nation of New Zealand but also provided the colonizers the right to use the land of these people for commercial purposes. However, the major change in the condition of these people came in the year 1960 with the signing of M?oridom as per which the national government of New Zealand agreed to return back the ancestral land of these people (Webster & Cheyne, 2017). The decision of the national government to allow Maori representation in the local government is likely to improve the condition of these people in a substantial and also give them the status which is rightfully theirs as citizens of the nation. This essay will argue about the fact that Maori representation in the local government is likely to help the Maoris to get integrated into the mainland civilization of New Zealand.
The “Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002” and its amendment in 2010 by the “Crown” provided the Maori community to not cast transferable votes but also to form their constituencies and wards which would be governed by the members of their community (Anaya, 2015). This decision of the national government of New Zealand becomes especially important in view of the fact that these individuals have been ostracized from the mainland civilization and government of the nation for a very long time (Cheyne, 2015). An analysis of the history of the Maori community in the nation of New Zealand shows a community which has been subjected to systematic suppression, oppression, deprivation and other acts of inhumanity. Furthermore, until recently these people were not even deemed to be a part of the mainland culture of the nation and thus they were not provided with the basic voting rights (Harmsworth, Awatere & Robb, 2016). As per Humpage (2017) this change in the condition of the Maori community can be seen as the net result of The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” proposed by the United Nations in 2007 and the ardent efforts of some of the local people of the nation.
Current Laws and Policies
The decision of the national government of New Zealand to allow Maori representation in local government is not only monumental but is also likely to provide various benefits to the Maoris and also the nation itself. as per Winstanley et al. (2016), the most important benefit that this decision is likely to provide to the Maori people is the fact that this decision is likely to put them on equal footing with the other citizens of the nation. This becomes especially important when the past history of these people is taken into consideration and also the protests raised by these people in the recent times for equal rights on par with the other citizens of the nation. The decision of the national government along with providing equal rights to these people has indirectly provided them the opportunity to fight for the ancestral land which was unlawfully taken away from them (Bargh, 2016). In addition to these, it would also providing improved educational, job, health care and other kinds of facilities to these people which are likely to help them to fulfill the basic psychosocial needs of theirs and other goals of their life in an effective manner. This opportunity is something which the Maori people never had in the earlier times (Anaya, 2015).
This decision of the national government of New Zealand is also likely to help not only the national government of the nation but also the citizens of New Zealand as well. For example, allowing the representation of the Maori people in the local governments would help the national government to effectively govern as well as manage this community (Harmsworth, Awatere & Robb, 2016). This is something which has been a cause of worry for the national government for a very long time since earlier it was seen that the national government was not able to manage the affairs of this community because of the different cultural and social practices followed by this community. However, the integration of these people into the local government of the nation would offer them the opportunity to observe the Maori people at close quarters and understand them in an effective manner (Winstanley et al., 2016). This is likely to help the national government to govern the Maori people in a much better manner which is something that it has not been able to do for a very long time. In addition to this, the decision will at the same time facilitate the assimilation of the Maori people into the mainland civilization of the nation and this is likely to make the national culture of the concerned nation not only an enriched one but also a multi-cultural one (Fox & Bretton, 2016). Furthermore, the integration of these people into the mainland civilization of the nation would at the same time help the nation to resolve the labor issues that it is facing currently by providing the various industries with the surplus number of workplace that they need for their business operations (Humpage, 2017). Thus, it can be said that the decision of the national government of New Zealand to allow Maori representation in the local governments is not only likely to improve the quality of life of the Maori people but would also help the national government in a substantial manner.
Benefits of Maori Representation in Local Government
There are various kinds of issues or challenges that the national government is likely because of the process of representation of Maoris in the local governments. Firstly, it is likely that this decision of the national government will not be taken in the right light by all the citizens of the nation (Webster & Cheyne, 2017). For example, there are still many people in the nation who consider the Maoris to be indigenous or aboriginals and do not like to mingle with them. However, the decision of the national government would place these Maori people on equal footing with the other citizens of the nation and this can cause various issues for the national government of the nation. Another issue that might arise because of this decision of the national government is the fact that the Maori people are very conservative and they have their own culture as well as traditions which is completely different from the one which is being followed within the mainland of New Zealand (McArthur, 2017). This difference in the cultures of the two people can affect the process of assimilation in an adverse manner.
To conclude, the Maori community of New Zealand had been deprived of their basic human rights since the traditional times and it was seen that until recently they lacked some of the basic amenities of life like education, health care services, jobs and others. However, recently their condition has much improved in the nation because of the different initiatives of the national government. In this regard, the decision of the national government to allow Maori representation in the local governments of the nation is an important one. This is not only likely to place them on equal footing with the other citizens of the nation but would also provide better educational, jobs, health care and other kinds of opportunities to them. For this, the national government would have to take into effective consideration the cultural factors and others for the process of their integration into the mainland civilization of the nation. However, one thing is sure that this decision would improve the quality of life of the Maori people in a substantial manner and at the same time would help in the fulfillment of their basic needs as well.
References:
Anaya, S. J. (2015). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Situation of Maori People in New Zealand. Ariz. J. Int’l & Comp. L., 32, 1.
Bargh, M. (2016). Opportunities and complexities for M?ori and mana whenua representation in local government. Political Science, 68(2), 143-160.
Cheyne, C. (2015). Changing urban governance in New Zealand: Public participation and democratic legitimacy in local authority planning and decision-making 1989–2014. Urban Policy and Research, 33(4), 416-432.
Fox, C., & Bretton, C. (2016, February). M?ori participation rights and interests. In annual conference of the Resource Management Legal Association. Retrieved (Vol. 1).
Harmsworth, G., Awatere, S., & Robb, M. (2016). Indigenous M?ori values and perspectives to inform freshwater management in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Ecology and Society, 21(4).
Humpage, L. (2017). Does Having an Indigenous Political Party in Government Make a Difference to Social Policy? the M?ori Party in New Zealand. Journal of Social Policy, 46(3), 475-494.
McArthur, J. (2017). Auckland: Rescaled governance and post-suburban politics. Cities, 64, 79-87.
Webster, K., & Cheyne, C. (2017). Creating Treaty-based local governance in New Zealand: M?ori and P?keh? views. K?tuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 12(2), 146-164.
Winstanley, A., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Hepi, M., Baker, V., & Foote, J. (2016). Understanding the impact of democratic logics on participatory resource decision-making in New Zealand. Local Environment, 21(10), 1171-1184.
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