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The process isn't over, but the Hawke\u2019s Bay District Council was the latest yesterday to confirm a decision they had made earlier to introduce a M\u0101ori seat to their operation.\xa0

Under the new law passed by Wellington, if you had done that you need to either drop the seat at next year's local body elections or take it to a vote.\xa0

They have voted to take it to a vote. A lot of councils have done the same thing.\xa0

I think in totality this is a good thing.\xa0

Having race-based seats is wrong. But at the very least you have to give your constituents a say, which has been the crime quite rightly identified and corrected by the Government.\xa0

Part of the argument put forward in Hawke\u2019s Bay, as I'm sure it has been in various council meetings, is M\u0101ori voices are under threat.\xa0

Now, the trouble with that is it simply isn't true and never has been. In that misrepresentation of the facts is the beauty of democracy.\xa0

Democracy is alive and well in this country. It's just sadly one of those things we take for granted.\xa0

Part of the democratic process is anyone can stand, anyone can have their voices heard, and it's far from being under threat\xa0

The fascinating bit now, once all the decisions on elections are made, is how many votes for seats will there be, and will anyone be able to get a majority to actually earn a seat?\xa0

If every single vote votes 'no', what has that told us about the entire M\u0101ori seat exercise?\xa0

Could it be in certain areas, maybe Northland, Gisborne and possibly Hawke\u2019s Bay, that a campaign can be successfully run to get enough numbers over the line, and if that happens does that spur others on?\xa0

Could it be that the democratic exercise of actually voting leads to a growth in the number of M\u0101ori seats? Imagine that. Success by election, growth by democracy and a voice heard and acted upon in a positive way.\xa0

Surely the prospect of that potential is far more satisfying, and satisfactory legally, than the gerrymandered mess we have had up until now?\xa0

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