Representation and Indigeneity: The Māori Roll Option in Aotearoa-New Zealand

• In Event: Identity Formation and Maintenance in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

In New Zealand, also known by its Indigenous Māori name Aotearoa, voters of Māori descent have the choice between two electoral rolls: the Māori roll and the General Roll. The current number of dedicated Māori seats in the New Zealand Parliament currently stands at seven. They cover the entire country: their boundaries are superimposed over those of the sixty-four General districts. Every five years after the New Zealand census, persons who have reported Māori descent have the ‘option’ to change between electoral rolls. Choice of the Māori roll indicates a preference to have a Māori MP whose line of accountability is directly to Māori: we take this as a signal of Indigenous identity and of a desire for Māori collective self-determination. Using a unique ‘Big’ dataset, made up of the entire rolls of registered electors reporting Māori descent before and after the most recent option period in 2019 (N=481,086), we investigate roll choices and role shifts across age, gender, location and other factors, merging in census local area census data to estimate contextual effects. Also informed by qualitative data based on in-depth interviews with young Māori, we test hypotheses related to generational socialisation, the concentration or dispersion of the Māori population, socio-economic status, and Māori cultural identities.

Authors

• Jack Vowles, Victoria University of Wellington

• Ruben Toa Kearney-Parata, Victoria University of Wellington

• Matthew Gibbons, Victoria University of Wellington