Well Passed the Use-by Date

Maori Inferiority

It is becoming more evident with the passing of time that the Maori electoral seats in New Zealand are an anachronism.  For the benefit of our non-Kiwi readers, four Maori electorates were created by the Maori Representative Act, 1867.  This guaranteed representation of the indigenous people in the New Zealand Parliament. 

But that guarantee is now redundant.  The parliament has published an excellent account of the origins, intent, and subsequent history of the Maori seats.  Political developments and constitutional changes over the last thirty years have significantly attenuated the rationale for Maori seats.    They are looking more and more like a vestigial organ.