This is edition 2025/171 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. Not a Good Look?
Chris Trotter
- 🗳️ Ferris’s Critique – Tākuta Ferris questions why non-Māori are campaigning in a Māori seat, arguing it undermines the seat’s special Indigenous character.
- 🚫 Exclusive Electorate – Only voters on the Māori Roll can vote in Māori electorates, highlighting their unique constitutional status.
- 🤔 Labour’s Image Problem – The presence of non-Māori campaign workers suggests Labour may not have deep Māori roots or respect for tikanga.
- 📜 Historical Purpose – Māori seats were created in 1867 as a recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori political rights.
- ⛪ Ratana–Labour Alliance – From the 1930s, the Ratana church allied with Labour, delivering decades of Māori seat dominance while remaining a distinct movement.
- 📉 Neoliberal Disruption – Economic reforms of the 1980s–90s hurt Māori communities, weakening Labour’s long-standing hold on the Māori seats.
- 🌱 Rise of Te Pāti Māori – Similar to Ratana’s origins, Te Pāti Māori emerged as a response to social disruption and political betrayal.
- 🧭 Indigenous Representation Debate – The essay questions whether Labour truly respects the constitutional difference of Māori seats or is drifting toward a “one roll for all” philosophy.
- 🏛️ Policy Crossroads – If Labour sees no vital difference between Māori and General seats, the logical step might be to abolish Māori representation—otherwise it should honor their unique status and reconsider contesting them.
