Option Update - Māori Electoral Option 2006
7 Aug 2006 Volume 1, Number 5

2006 Māori Electoral Option Complete

The four month 2006 Māori Electoral Option is now complete.

The Option has seen hundreds of thousands of Māori receiving information about the choice the Option offers, and how to take part.

Outreach to the Māori community has been comprehensive with advertising and direct mail activity supported by the kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) activity - with over 155,000 individuals reached through this work.

21,500 Plus Change Roll Type - Another 10,280 Enrol For First Time

During the Option period 21,588 Māori changed the type of electoral roll they were on and another 10,280 Māori enrolled for the first time.

Key results of the Option:

Overall

• An additional 14,914 Māori enrolled on the Māori Roll
• 4,634 fewer Māori enrolled on the General Roll
• A total of 385,977 people who have identified themselves as Māori are now enrolled to vote.

Changes to Electoral Roll Type

• 14,294 moving from the General Roll to the Māori Roll
• 7,294 moving from the Māori Roll to the General Roll

New Enrolments of Māori Descent

• 7,914 new enrolments of Māori descent on the Māori Roll
• 2,366 new enrolments of Māori descent on the General Roll

Previous Māori Electoral Options

More statistics and information including previous Option results and an electorate breakdown for the 2006 Māori Electoral Option are available on http://www.elections.org.nz/maori-option-results.html

Impact on number of Māori and General Electorates

The choices Māori make during the Māori Electoral Option are used in the calculations to work out the number of General and Māori electorates.

Statistics New Zealand will use the Option information and the 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings to determine the number of General and Māori Electorates for the next two elections.

Statistics New Zealand will make an announcement on the number of Māori and General Electorates in February 2007.

What's Next?

The Māori Electoral Option is a key milestone in the electoral calendar.

Once Statistics New Zealand has crunched the numbers the information will be used by the Representation Commission to determine new electorate boundaries for both the Māori and General electorates.

These boundaries will be used for the 2008 and 2011 elections.

The Representation Commission gets underway with its work early in 2007.

The Next Māori Electoral Option - Scheduled for 2012

By law a Māori Electoral Option must be held every five years - as close as possible to the Census of Population and Dwellings.

However, it can't be held in an election year.

The next Census is in 2011 - a scheduled general election year. That means the next Māori Electoral Option will be held in six years time in 2012.

Acknowledge, Assess and Review

The Option has run smoothly, with considerable activity to reach Māori and help ensure they know about the choice they had and more work behind the scenes processing their choices.

Teams of people across the country have worked hard during the Option to make it a success.

The Electoral Enrolment Centre wants to acknowledge the work of the Registrars of Electors and the kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) teams - specifically:

• Adonai DC
• Face to Face Communications
• Māori Women's Welfare League Inc.
• Mokai Kainga
• Multi Trends Ltd
• Piki Ora House
• Te Kupenga O Ngati Hako Inc.
• Taikehu Trust
• Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa
• Te Whanau Tu Tonu O Oruamo Inc.
• Whanganui River Māori Trust Board
• Wintrac Limited

In the final weeks of the Option Te Kupenga O Ngati Hako Inc hit the road visiting small towns across the Central North Island, with fantastic results and feedback. They visited 74 towns, talked to 11,600 people and gathered 900 enrolment forms.

The Electoral Enrolment Centre has started its post campaign stocktake and review of the Māori Electoral Option activity and processes to help with future enrolment and Option work.

Contact Us

www.elections.org.nz
enrol@elections.org.nz
0800 36 76 56