Ngāmotu kaiwhakahaere Stacey Glassie said lots of locals, including students and their whānau, were familiar and comfortable with the campus in the Paritūtū suburb.
“With the number of Māori that we get coming into our whare, the Māori communities that are connected with our whare – I thought this is just a prime opportunity to open our kūaha [doors].”
Glassie said the Electoral Commission had hired well-known locals, including wānanga students, who could create a warm and welcoming environment.
“The whānau that will be coming in here have got a bit of reo, have got a bit of whakaaro Māori … which brings manaakitanga, brings that āhurutanga in as well.”
She said the wānanga brought together people with reach into diverse communities.
“Our wider hāpori [community] we’ve got doctors and nurses and ministers and mums and dads and nannies and koro.”
Nearby kura kaupapa Te Pi’ipi’inga Kākano Mai i Rangiātea also hosts voting on Thursday and Friday afternoon as one of 15 bilingual voting places the Electoral Commission has set up across the country, following a trial in Huntly in 2020.
On election day itself, polling booths will also open at Waitara’s Owae Marae and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui in Hāwera.
For voters closer to Whanganui, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui-A-Pāpārangi and Rangahaua Marae also host election day booths.
The Māori voting gap is similar across the country, and the commission’s chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne said a new Māori advisory team had brought improvements.
Le Quesne said many new voting places had been established at marae, kura and similar locations familiar to Māori and all staff were trained about the difference between the Māori and general rolls.
“We know Māori voters may not have always had a good experience when they go to vote and we’ve been working hard to address this by having voting places in good locations, with people from the local community working there, and providing training for staff.”
The commission also offered online resources in regional te reo variants including social media tiles and email banners, posters, short newsletters and social media content.
Te Pāti Māori candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, said the commission’s efforts weren’t good enough.
“I can’t help but relate it to how it was during Covid, where we had these entities that have a whole lot of bureaucracy, a whole lot of funding, but they’re totally disconnected from the communities on the ground to be able to support Māori participation.”
Ngarewa-Packer said the election had featured “a huge amount of race-baiting, a huge amount of conflict and some pretty revolting politics”.
“That is not going to appeal to our people to participate.”
But the commission had been sluggish in responding to offers of help from Māori communities, marae and iwi entities, she said.
“They’re really slow to respond to communities that are offering to host, communities that are trying to communicate, communities that are trying to remove barriers in this system that has inhibited our people from participating.”
This year Massey University research found problems with the 2017 election had been repeated in 2020.
Associate Professor Veronica Tawhai said some polling places had no Māori roll, no voting ballots for Māori electorates, and electors on the Māori roll experienced discrimination and longer wait times.
“Given Māori electorates have existed since 1867, the lack of preparedness and attention given to ensuring those on the Māori roll can exercise their democratic right to vote as easily and efficiently as other New Zealanders is unacceptable,” said Tawhai.
“The poor treatment of some Māori by polling booth staff in past elections, due to their choice to be on the Māori roll, must also be entirely eliminated.”
Tawhai’s recommendations included more Māori venues as polling places, more Māori and te reo-speaking staff, training about the Māori roll and Māori electorates, pronunciation training, and vetting staff for discriminatory attitudes.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
