NZ First to campaign on Māori seats referendum

Thursday, 12 February 2026

NZ First will campaign for a referendum on the Māori seats this election, saying the argument for a separate seats based on race had become “irrelevant”.

Te Pati Māori said it was “race and rage baiting” to suit NZ First’s voters while Labour said it was a “cheap and cynical” attempt to get votes.

National refused to take a formal position yet.

The announcement was made on Thursday, with NZ First leader Winston Peters posting on social media that the time had come for a decision on the future of the Māori seats.

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Peters referenced the Royal Commission into the electoral system in 1986, which stated the implementation of Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system would create a more representative Parliament and the original justification for the Māori seats would no longer exist.

He said with a record number of Māori in Parliament and in Cabinet, the argument for separate seats based on race had become “irrelevant”.

He said Te Pāti Māori’s behaviour over the past two years had been “the last straw”.

“They hold the majority of the Māori seats and do not turn up to Parliament, disregard the rules and processes, and show utter disdain for the system that gives them the very seats they hold ‒ they represent no one,” he said.

“They have proven the seats they hold are no longer relevant nor serve their original purpose.”

With the referendum on local Māori wards having taking place alongside last year’s local elections, he said it was time for the public to decide if the seats are effective and if they are still needed.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the timing of the announcement showed Peters was “threatened” by the fact it would be the Māori electorates that will decide who the next prime minister is.

He said Māori seats allowed Maori a unique opportunity to have an independent voice in Parliament.

Waititi suggested there should be a referendum on list seats, saying it wasn’t clear who they represented and they didn’t have a mandate from constituents.

'The Māori seats are clear. They have a clear mandate,' he said.

“I think the types that Winston Peters represents is a dying cohort of people in Aotearoa, and I would hope that New Zealand is mature enough to see the value in the Māori seats sitting here in Parliament.”

Labour MP Kieran McAnulty said it was a “cheap and cynical” attempt to get votes.

“They've flirted with this now and again. When he wants a bit of attention he comes out with this one, but they've never followed through with it,” he said.

“They made these noises before they formed government with Labour, and they'd made it before they formed it with national I think it's just an attempt to get attention.”

He said there was “absolutely no chance” Labour would support this policy.

He did not believe the referendum would go through, saying there had been seats for Māori for longer than anyone had been alive.

“It would be a massive backward step if we moved away from that. I think Kiwis would recognise that.”

Deputy National leader Nicola Willis said it needed to be discussed in caucus before the party took a formal position.

National MP Tama Potaka said the matter had not been discussed in the National caucus, but what he was focused on was the social and economic challenges that faced Māori.