Opinion: Alfred Johns, Te Aroha
Former U.S. President Barack Obama was speaking to Americans—not New Zealanders—when he issued this warning in 2006. Yet his words seem uncannily relevant to New Zealand today.
“Ethnic-based tribal politics has to stop. It is rooted in the bankrupt idea that the goal of politics or business is to funnel as much of the pie as possible to one’s family, tribe, or circle with little regard for the public good.
It stifles innovation and fractures the fabric of society. Instead of opening businesses and engaging in commerce, people come to rely on patronage and payback as a means of advancing.
Instead of unifying the country to move forward on solving problems, it divides neighbour from neighbour.”
If New Zealand is to remain a strong, united democracy, we must restore one principle above all others: every citizen must be equal under the law, regardless of ancestry or ethnicity. Equality before the law is the foundation of every free and stable society. Once that principle is abandoned, division and racial politics inevitably follow.
Today, New Zealand is increasingly moving toward race-based governance through co-governance arrangements, separatist policies, and constitutional change driven by the Māori Party and its political allies. The danger is clear: a society where political influence, public rights, and national decision-making become determined not by citizenship, but by ethnicity.
Most concerning of all, is that New Zealand was warned this could happen.
In 1986, the Royal Commission on the Electoral System cautioned that retaining the Māori seats under MMP could distort democratic representation. The Commission concluded that Māori representation would naturally emerge through general electorates and party lists, making separate race-based seats unnecessary.
That warning now appears remarkably prophetic.
Following the 2020 election, the Māori seats gave Māori MPs influence within government significantly beyond their proportion of the voting population, while also enabling the Māori Party — supported by only a small percentage of voters nationwide — to exercise parliamentary leverage disproportionate to its electoral support.
Without the Māori seats, Māori representation in Parliament would still remain strong through general and list seats, but without permanently embedding racial preference into the electoral system itself.
Now, in 2026, New Zealanders must seriously ask whether it is healthy for democracy when a small race-based party can exert disproportionate influence over national policy and constitutional direction.
If we are serious about preserving democracy, equality, and national unity, reform is necessary.
First, New Zealand should implement the Royal Commission’s recommendation and abolish the Māori seats.
Second, after years of expanding co-governance and race-based legislation, New Zealand should move toward a system similar to countries such as Sweden, France, and Germany by removing racial distinctions from law wherever possible and ensuring equal treatment for all citizens.
A nation cannot remain united if governments continue dividing citizens into competing ethnic categories. True unity comes not from racial preference, but from shared citizenship, equal rights, equal responsibilities, and equal opportunity.
New Zealand’s future strength will not be built on racial preference or tribal division, but on one standard of citizenship, one system of law, and one united nation where every Kiwi stands equal before the law.
