‘New Zealanders to lose vote’

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 10, 10 November 1977, Page 1

‘New Zealanders to lose vote’

Thousands of New Zealanders will be denied their democratic right to cast a valid vote in the coming election, because of new Government legislation, claim two Labour Party MP’s, Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan and Mr Richard Prebble. -

The MP for Southern Maori. Whetu TirikateneSullivan, has described the Electoral Amendment Bill, introduced into Parliament on November 2 as ‘the most appalling example of elitist legislation’ she has ever seen. “This legislation baltantly discriminates against the less well-educated and sophisticated people in the community," she says. "It imposes needless bureaucratic rules on people’s rights to vote, which will not be understood, or accepted, by many thousands of New Zealanders. “For example, clause four means that an elector must now have lived in an electorate for three months, instead of one, to qualify for an ordinary vote. This ignores

the mobility of Maori and Pacific Island residents, and of those forced to move continually in search of work. “Clause seven means that a person will not have a valid vote, unless they have complied with all the registration rules. This repeals the provision introduced by the Labour Government which ensured that a vote was valid, as long as an individual had made a reasonable effort to register. “One again, as a Maori Member, 1 know from firsthand experience that thousands of Maoris will be disenfranchised by such rigid nonsense. “The Bill, also, for some unfathomable reason, repeals the provision whereby the returning officer was required to circulate to all residents. information on candidates, and especially polling places. This is a direct slap at the less politically aware members in our community. “We should be working to make voting easier, not more difficult," concludes Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan. The two MPs urge all people who are interested in the democratic process to take

advantage of the fact that the bill has been sent to a Select Committee. If this legislation is not changed, there is a very great risk that many thousands of New Zealanders will effectively be denied a voice in their own government, they say.