Artist and activist Tāme Iti’s latest project has him featuring in Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest advertisement ever made as part of a campaign to encourage more Māori on to the Māori roll.
He sits on a stool in a vast, cavernous space, reading out names from a book of people on the Māori roll for nearly 30 minutes straight — “nearly” because in the middle of it he goes off for a “cuppa tea”, but the cameras keep rolling on his empty seat during his break.
The roll call makes for an arresting watch, simply for the number of names he goes through in one sitting. The monotony is punctuated by personal shout outs to people he recognises – “Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, tēnā koe, sis!” – or apologies to those whose names he stumbles on.
Speaking to Breakfast about the ad this morning, he urged people to get “politically involved” on all levels of governance.
“I’ve gone past the days when we used to say ‘don’t vote’. Times have changed, we’ve got a bigger population, we’ve got a huge Māori population, particularly the [18- to 30-year-olds].
“[It’s] really, really important there for them to be engaged.”
He said he was passionate about getting rangatahi engaged so “they have a voice” and a say in political matters.
“That’s really the focus for us, to encourage all of our rangatahi, ngā rangatahi from 30 down to 18.”
Created by the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA), the ad campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori electoral option — the choice for Māori to be on the general or Māori roll.
In 1975, the Electoral Amendment Act passed, defining Māori as a person of New Zealand Māori descent. Prior to the act, a person’s electoral roll was determined by the percentage of Māori blood they were deemed to have.
WOCA chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait (Te Arawa) said in a statement the agency wanted to capture the voice of the politically-charged young Māori and give them a genuine seat at the table.
“When our people are engaged in the systems that shape their lives, we start to see real change not just politically, but in health, education, and the wellbeing of our whānau. At the end of the day, this is about M.M.P.; More Māori in Parliament. But that’s only going to happen if we can help drive Māori to vote.”
As of June 1, 565,985 voters of Māori descent were enrolled to vote, with 297,798 (52.6%) on the Māori roll and 268,187 (47.4%) on the general roll, according to Stats NZ.
Raukawa-Tait said tamariki Māori are expected to make up 1 in 3 children within the next 20 years.
“We must safeguard our rangatahi’s future with an electoral roll that centres the political system in te ao Māori. I believe the Māori roll is our most powerful manifestation of tino-rangatiratanga, or self determination, for people to have their voices heard.”
The deadline for switching rolls is July 10.
