Local Electoral Act 2001
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The Local Electoral Act 2001 is an Act of the
New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...
that provides for the regulation of local body elections in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, which entails provisions relating to the timing of local elections and other forms of rules surrounding electoral processes, Māori wards and constituencies, and which
voting system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
the
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
uses in elections. It was established following the 2001 Review of the former Local Elections and Polls Act 1976 by the
Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, ...
which was charged with reviewing and rewriting the Act governing local elections.


Proposed amendments

On 20 October 2022, the draft report of the Future for Local Government Review recommended that the voting age for local elections be lowered to 16 and extend local government terms from 3 years to 4 years. On 21 November 2022, the
Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand () is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Co ...
ruled in '' Make It 16 Incorporated v Attorney-General'' that the
voting age A legal voting age is the minimum age that a person is allowed to Voting, vote in a democracy, democratic process. For General election, general elections around the world, the right to vote is restricted to adults, and most nations use 18 year ...
of 18 years was inconsistent with the right to be free from discrimination under section 19 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 and that they had not been justified. The day after,
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...
and
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
Grant Robertson Grant Murray Robertson (born 30 October 1971) is a retired New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party who served as the Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2023, as Minister of Foreign Affairs in November 2023, and as the 19th Deputy Pr ...
confirmed that the Labour Party ministers were considering whether to amend the Local Electoral Act to allow 16-year-olds to vote in local body elections.


Māori wards and constituencies

The Local Electoral Act 2001 allows
territorial authorities Territorial authorities ( Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. Dist ...
to vote to establish
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
wards and regional councils to establish Māori
constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of which only those of Māori descent and on the Māori electoral roll are eligible to vote in. These constituencies are similar to the
Māori electorates In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
established under the
Electoral Act 1993 The Electoral Act 1993 is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament for regulating elections in New Zealand. It "establishes the electoral agencies, electoral system, election processes (including that for disputing results), how MPs are replaced b ...
, but on a local government level. In August 2020, the
Tauranga City Council Tauranga City Council is the Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority for the List of cities in New Zealand, city of Tauranga, New Zealand. The council consists of nine councillors, each elected from one of nine wards, and ...
resolved to establish a Māori ward, later on 28 January 2021, it was confirmed by local electoral officer Warwick Lampp that a petition calling for a local
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
to overturn the council's decision to establish a Māori ward had reached the necessary threshold of 5% of eligible local voters. Between 2002–2021, 24 different councils attempted to establish Māori wards, however, only 2 of the 24 councils were ever successful. On 1 February 2021, Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta announced that the Sixth Labour Government would be introducing a bill to remove the mechanism where 5% of local voters can by petition, call a local referendum to overturn a council's decision to establish Māori wards. Mahuta commented that "Polls have proven to be an almost insurmountable barrier to councils trying to improve the democratic representation of Māori interests. This process is fundamentally unfair to Māori." At the first reading of the bill, former
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
Party MP
Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a New Zealand retired politician, broadcaster and lawyer. He served as Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of t ...
said that he found it personally insulting as a Māori man because "it says I'm not good enough because of my whakapapa, because of the colour of my skin ... this bill to me says I'm not good enough to win a vote of a non-Māori, well I am good enough". On 24 February 2021, the bill passed its third reading and was granted
Royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
on 1 March 2021 and enacted as the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021. The National Party said that it intends to repeal the bill if elected in 2023. On 30 July 2024, the Sixth National Government passed
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
reinstating the poll provision for establishing and retaining Māori wards. As part of this policy reversal, local and regional councils that have already established a Māori ward without a referendum are required to hold a binding poll alongside the
2025 New Zealand local elections The 2025 New Zealand local elections () are upcoming triennial elections that will be held from 9 September until 11 October 2025 to elect local mayors and councillors, regional councillors, and members of local boards. All 11 of New Zeala ...
or to disestablish them.


See also

*
Local elections in New Zealand Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train) A train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail fr ...
*
Local government in New Zealand New Zealand has a unitary system of government in which the authority of the central government defines sub-national entities. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers conferred upon it by the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Loca ...
* Voting in New Zealand


References

{{Reflist 2001 in New Zealand law Statutes of New Zealand