A Victoria University political scientist says there could be a case for an MP representing Maori living in Australia. Maria Bargh says 110,000 Maori live across the Tasman, but they tend not to vote in either country.
She says one of the reasons she’s doing a survey of their political behaviour is to generate some debate on how those people can be represented.
“If Maori in Australia are massively disenfranchised, is there a need for an electorate specifically for Maori in Australia. We need to think about those kinds of options. It’s certainly the case in other countries. Italy for example has an electorate for Italians who live in different places in the world,” Dr Bargh says.
Electronic voting could make such an overseas seat practical, as most Maori in Australia still consider themselves New Zealanders and don’t vote over there.
Full Article: Maori overseas MP could address inequity.