New Zealand First will campaign on a referendum to determine the future of the Māori seats in the lead-up to November’s general election.

Party leader Winston Peters said in contemporary times, the seats built a more representative Parliament but with record levels of Māori MPs in the House, they were redundant.

Māori seats were introduced via legislation in 1876 and initially limited Māori representation to just four seats. Today, there are seven Māori electorates which people on the Māori roll vote for. Te Pāti Māori currently holds six of these seven seats.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon would not say whether his party was supportive of or opposed to a referendum, saying the issue had not been discussed by the National Party caucus.

Peters said Te Pāti Māori’s behaviour over the last two years was the “disdain”.

“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.

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

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi rejected this criticism, saying his MPs did turn up and he often gave speeches while the House was empty.

Waititi said Peters was “threatened” by the party’s strength in the Māori electorates.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi during a finance and expenditure select committee hearing at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Peters is “absolutely threatened it will be the Māori seats who decide who the next Prime Minister is”, Waititi said.

“He likes to sit in that position as the kingmaker but unfortunately ... te iwi Māori will be making that [decision].

“I think the types that Winston Peters represents is a dying [world view] in Aotearoa and I would hope that New Zealand is mature enough to see the value in the Māori seats here in Parliament.”

Peters said outgoing Labour MP Peeni Henare’s recent failure to win back his Tāmaki Makaurau seat showed the seat system was broken and not working as it should.

“When you can see someone like Peeni Henare robbed blind as he was in 2023 ... then there is nothing to defend.”

New Zealand First previously campaigned on this issue in 2017 but “we believe we have an opportunity now to ensure this policy is implemented after the next election”, the party said.

NZ First leader Winston Peters (left) questions Labour MP Peeni Henare during his appearance before Parliament's Privileges Committee last March. Photo/ Mark Mitchell

Labour’s Kieran McAnulty said the party would “never” support such a policy. He said Peters was just trying to get “attention” and linking the issue to Te Pāti Māori was a “cheap and cynical attempt to get some cheap votes”.

“Winston was quite happy with Māori seats when he stood in one back in 1975 and when they won them all in the 1990s, and now he wants to pretend to New Zealanders that they don’t like them? I don’t think Kiwis would buy it.”

Meanwhile, NZ First Minister Shane Jones said the “vast majority of Māori are just over the antics of the Māori Party and think they have brought the state of the seats into a bad odour.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.