By FRANCESCA MOLD political reporter
The Green Party has called for a law change to protect Maori seats from a move by National to have them abolished.
National leader Bill English will take a policy calling for the Maori seats to be dumped to his caucus for approval today.
He expects to get the support needed to confirm the proposal as official National policy.
Under the Electoral Act, a simple majority of MPs is enough to push through legislation abolishing Maori seats. General seats can be dumped only through a referendum or by 75 per cent of MPs voting in favour.
Green co-leader Rod Donald said the Maori seats were under threat from a potential National, Act and New Zealand First alliance.
United Future said yesterday it had no pre-conceived views on whether the seats should stay or go at this stage.
Mr Donald said Labour must support his call to protect the seats.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said she had not considered the need for new protective legislation.
But she said it would be an "absolute disaster" if Parliament cut across the rights of Maori by voting to get rid of the seats without their support.
The system already had a kind of inbuilt referendum because the number of special seats depended on how many people signed up for the Maori roll.
She said it was under National that the Electoral Act was amended in 1993 to allow for the increase of seats depending on Maori voter enrolment. Before that, there were only four seats enshrined in legislation.
Every five years, electoral officials carry out the "Maori electoral option", which involves confirming how many people want to be on the Maori roll.
If no one signs up, there would be no need for the seats.
But numbers have risen in the past few years.
In 1990, there were about 83,000 on the Maori roll.
That rose to 101,585 in 1993, 141,929 three years later and 159,233 in 1999.
It is estimated there are now about 194,000 people on the Maori roll.
As the numbers increase, so have the seats, from four in 1993 to five in 1996, six in 1999 and now seven.
Mr English said the 18 Maori MPs provided a fair level of representation for the 14 per cent of the population of Maori descent.
But Helen Clark said most of those MPs had come into Parliament through Labour and New Zealand First.
Only one National MP was Maori and she did not agree with the policy.
"I think it would be very damaging to go against the strong wishes of Maoridom with respect to the seats."
Mr English said there would be more Maori National MPs if his party increased its vote.
Greens enter row on Maori seats
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