KEY POINTS:
Maori are more interested in sport than voting, says a Rotorua kaumatua.
Thousands of Maori have been struck from the Waiariki and Rotorua electoral rolls - twice as many as non- Maori - because they haven't updated their details or have not bothered to re-enrol.
That means they won't be able to vote in this weekend's local body elections or next year's general election unless they do something about it quickly.
Putu Mihaka, kaumatua for Rotorua's Te Waiariki Purea Trust, says it's a real concern and Maori are "just apathetic".
"Rather than vote they are playing sport.
"A lot of Maori think their votes don't count.
"But they do - they are very important. Our Maori people have a huge amount of influence on local councils, health boards and central government."
Of 30,825 people who were on the Waiariki roll earlier this year, 3393 Maori have not updated their details and won't be able to vote.
Of 37,512 people on Rotorua's general roll, 2153 names have been struck off, with 607 of them of Maori descent. "It's a huge concern when you look at these figures," Mr Mihaka said.
Maori had "dropped the ball" when it came to educating their people about the importance of taking an interest in politics.
"We [kaumatua] have become lazy not supporting our rangatahi [young people] in taking an interest.
"It seems gone are the days where whanau would sit around the table, talking about what concerns we have for our communities, how we as people do something, by standing up and saying 'our vote can make a difference'.
"Nowadays people lack the drive to get involved with things which really do have an impact on our lives. We sit back and think 'this does not affect me so why should I bother?'."
The Daily Post asked Maori in the street if they were enrolled to vote.
John Uru has never been on the roll and has no intentions of enrolling.
"Why should I bother?
"It's not as if my vote would make a difference."
Several other people expressed the same sentiment.
Miki Roderick, Waiariki Institute of Technology's deputy chief executive said rather than apathy, he believed the reason many Maori were not enrolling or interested in voting was because they did not see the relevance to them.
"It's not about why they are not voting, but what are the things important to Maori?
"What is significant to want them to vote?
"Instead of blaming them, we should all be looking at ways to encourage people to vote."
Mr Roderick, who taught political science at Auckland University, said the foreshore and seabed issue had shown that when Maori felt something affected them, they got involved.
With the Maori population increasing, their vote had more a significant impact than they realised, he said.
However, until their expectations were raised and they were convinced their vote mattered, there was little chance the situation would change.
Waiariki registrar of electors Kathy Warbrick said people could still cast a special vote if they filled in a form before tomorrow.
"Even if you are not interested in local elections, the general elections are next year - it's about having a voice," Mrs Warbrick said.
- DAILY POST
