EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. The Maori representation paper links with a paper on DHB elections which is scheduled for the following Social Policy and Health Committee meeting. That paper will include advice on how to implement an STV system with constituencies for DHB elections.

3. The DHB Board will be collectively accountable for achieving the government's objectives for Maori health and reducing health disparities between Maori and other New Zealanders. Maori representation on Boards will assist Boards to achieve those objectives. It will operate alongside the Treaty-based partnerships that DHB Boards will be required to establish with mana whenua in their area.

4. It is proposed that the proportion of Maori members on a DHB reflects the proportion of Maori in that DHB's population, plus an additional member to ensure Boards can effectively address Maori health disparities. This will ensure a minimum of two seats on each board, with more in areas with high Maori populations.

5. Boards will have seven elected members and up to four appointed members. The desired levels of Maori representation should ideally be achieved through a combination of elections and appointments.

6. A proportional voting system such as STV is more likely to ensure representation of Maori (and other minority groups) than first-past-the-post systems such as that currently used in local body elections). This aligns with Cabinet's preference [CAB(00) M 19/14]. The Ministry of Health is working with the Department of Internal Affairs to provide advice on how STV could be implemented for DHB elections in 2001.

7. No election system will guarantee Maori representation, however, so regardless of the electoral system, the election results will need to be supplemented with appointments to achieve the desired Maori representation levels. Maori involvement in the appointments process would be desirable and the Ministry of Health will advise the Minister of Health on how to achieve this, before the 2001 appointments process.

BACKGROUND

8. The Government has agreed there will be equitable representation of Maori on DHB Boards. [CAB (00) M 2/4 refers]. Some options for achieving this were canvassed in an earlier paper [ref. Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee meeting 17 April 2000].

9. Ministers have asked for a further paper that clarifies the appointment and election options, and compares the merits of each.

10. This paper links to the paper on election options for DHBs, as well as two accompanying papers on the Treaty of Waitangi in health legislation, and the proposed partnership between Maori and the Crown at national and DHB levels.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

An effective Maori voice at governance level

11. An effective Maori voice at DHB Board level will be important as Boards move to give effect to the Government's commitment to improve Maori health and to the principle of participation at all levels of the health sector under the Treaty of Waitangi. While achieving Maori health development will be a collective board responsibility, there will, nonetheless, be considerable pressure on individual Maori members to 'perform'. As well as being familiar with the issues and developments in Maori health, Maori members will need to be well versed in both boardroom and health politics - as will non-Maori board members.

A local perspective on Maori issues

12. Equally, candidates will need to be able to reflect local concerns. A large part of the rationale for establishing a DHB structure is the desire to involve local communities to a greater extent in the health decision-making process. Accordingly, Board members will need to be able to demonstrate that they have the confidence of, and can speak for, a considerable proportion of the DHB constituency.

EQUITABLE MAORI REPRESENTATION

13. "Equitable representation" in the context of DHB Boards is taken to mean that Maori will be represented on Boards in a number and manner that will give Maori an effective and informed voice in the conduct of the Boards' business, and in a way that reflects the priority given to disparities in Maori health compared to other New Zealanders.

14. To this end, officials propose that there should be a minimum of two Maori members on each Board, with additional members in areas with high Maori populations. The number of Maori seats should be proportional to the proportion of Maori in the population, plus one additional Maori member to reflect the greater health disparities in the Maori population.

15. Experience has shown that Maori members on Boards carry a burden of expectations beyond that of other members. That is particularly the case where there is a sole Maori member. Two or more members would enable that load to be shared, and also make it more likely that the Maori voice will be heard on those Boards where there would otherwise be only one Maori representative on a Board of eleven. A baseline of at least two seats reinforces the Government's commitment to reducing disparities in Maori health, and it gives greater credibility to the Crown/Maori partnership precept (although it should be noted that many Maori consider that only a 50:50 Maori to non-Maori membership ratio gives true meaning to the Treaty commitment).

16. Cabinet has decided there will be seven elected DHB members and up to four appointed members [CAB (00) M 19/14(b)]. Annex 1 sets out the estimated numbers of Maori seats on an eleven-member Board under a population proportion model, with an additional Maori member to reflect Maori health disparities. All Boards would have a minimum of two Maori seats. Two Boards would have four seats, one Board would have five, and one would have six seats.

17. If insufficient Maori are elected through the electoral process, the Ministerial appointments process will need to supplement those results. With only four appointed positions available, there may be some practical problems achieving the desired Maori representation levels where higher numbers are required, so some flexibility will be needed.

18. Reserving seats specifically for Maori raises issues of compliance with human rights legislation. The justification for this measure is set out in Annex 2.

THE ELECTION OPTION

The Mode of Election

19. The existing local body voting method has not been effective at delivering equitable representation for Maori or other minority groups. Only about 5% of local body members are Maori (although it is believed around 10% of candidates are Maori)¹.

20. There is significant overseas evidence that proportional voting systems such as STV and Limited Voting (where voters have fewer votes than the total number of members to be elected) are more likely to be effective in promoting representation for minority groups and better reflecting the make-up of the electorates. Voting rights actions have been taken by ethnic minority groups in the United States with at-large simple majority elections. STV and related systems also appear to have the benefit of encouraging positive campaigning and coalition building among candidates and positive voting by the constituency.

21. The Ministry of Health is working with the Department of Internal Affairs (Local Government) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Rural Affairs) to provide advice as soon as possible to the SPH Committee on how to implement an electoral system with single and multiple member constituencies, and STV where there are multiple members [CAB (00) M 19/14 (cc)].

22. It is important to note that adding a constituency system to STV will weaken its ability to achieve equitable representation.

Alternative Electoral Option

23. If STV is not adopted, an alternative electoral option is a process that resembles the General Election, with a Maori roll and dedicated Maori seats. This has the twin benefits of being familiar to voters and of being comparatively easy to implement. A Maori roll is also the only way to guarantee the election of Maori board members.

24. For the national elections, people self-identifying as Maori have the choice of going onto the Maori roll or the general roll. In the case of DHB elections, it is proposed that all people self-identifying as Maori when enrolling for the national elections would be sent the voting papers for Maori DHB seats as well as for the general DHB. They would exercise their right to vote as Maori by returning the Maori voting papers. This would avoid the problems of either having to construct a separate Maori DHB roll, or of having to confine the Maori DHB vote to only those on the national Maori roll.

Footnote(s):

1

Department of Internal Affairs (1994) Local Government Candidates 1992, Local Authority Information Series No. 8, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington