Representation, identity and indigeneity: changes in Māori roll choice in Aotearoa-New Zealand

Abstract

In New Zealand, also known by its Indigenous Māori name Aotearoa, voters of Māori descent have the choice between the Māori roll and the General roll. The boundaries of the seven dedicated Māori electoral districts are superimposed over those of the 65 General districts. Every five years, after the census, persons who have reported Māori descent have the option to change between electoral rolls. Choice of the Māori roll indicates a strong sense of Māori identity and a belief that it is important that the Māori seats remain to guarantee Parliamentary representation by Māori MPs, elected only by Māori. Using a unique dataset sampled from the electoral rolls, plus entire electoral rolls, we investigate roll locations and roll shifts of persons claiming Māori descent across age, gender, spatial location and other factors, merging in census local area census data to estimate linguistic contextual effects. We test hypotheses related to generational socialisation, speaking the Māori language, occupational mobility, household context, and the timing of enrolments. We confirm that identity as Māori, expressed most strongly through language context, has strong effects on Māori roll enrolment, but also find that other factors offset its impact on the number of Māori electorates.