The Green Party is renewing its call to remove from law the double standard that allows for referenda only on the establishment of Maori wards.

The party's comments come following confirmation that binding polls will be held in several districts around the country on whether the racially-segregated wards should be introduced on local councils, including the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

'The time has come to remove this discriminatory and racist provision that prevents the establishment of Maori wards right around the country,” says Green Party Maori Development spokesperson Marama Davidson.

'As we have seen with previous referendum on Maori wards, the polls that have just been initiated will almost certainly overturn the decisions of local councils.

'It's unacceptable that indigenous rights to representation are being decided on by the majority, especially when the UN has noted that we have ‘persistently low' levels of Maori representation in local government.”

Currently councils may establish or change general wards as they see fit (such as creating At Large or geographic wards), without electors being able to oppose these decisions. It is only Maori wards that electors can vote to overrule, if a council tries to introduce them.

'All that we are asking for is for government to support the leadership of local councils by ensuring the same process for establishing both Maori and general wards,” says Marama.

Western Bay of Plenty councillor Mike Lally, who was instrumental in gathering signatures to force a public poll on the issue of Maori wards, says the Green Party has ‘little use for democracy'.

'They say Maori wards come from the Treaty of Waitangi, but there's nothing in the Treaty about them,” says Mike. 'They can't understand it's about one people, one nation.”

He acknowledges that there is a double standard, and that if people are unhappy with changes to general wards, their only recourse is to vote the councillors who made the decisions out at the next election. But he thinks the answer is to have more consultation with the public on both general and Maori wards.

'The Green Party are saying we have a wrong, so let's have two wrongs.”

Hobson's Pledge spokesperson Casey Costello says the Green Party's call to end referenda on Maori wards once again shows they' distrust voter opinion'.

'Decisions on Maori wards is the only Maori issues decision in which the public is allowed a say, and we have noticed that people from all walks of life are keen to have their voices heard on this issue.”