Self-governance

Self-governance, or Autonomy, is an abstract concept that applies to several scales of organization.

It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units (usually referred to as Local Government), up to and including autonomous regions and/or others within nation-states who enjoy some sovereign rights. It falls within the larger context of governance and principles such as consent of the governed, and may involve non-profit organizations and corporate governance.

It can be used to describe a people or group being able to exercise all of the necessary functions of power without intervention from any authority which they cannot themselves alter. Self-rule is associated then in contexts where there is the end of colonial rule, absolute government or monarchy, as well as demands for autonomy by religious, ethnic or geographic regions which perceive themselves as being unrepresented or underrepresented in a national government. It is therefore a fundamental tenet of republican government and democracy as well as nationalism. Gandhi's term "swaraj" (see also "satygraha") is a branch of this self-rule ideology. Another major proponent of self-rule when a government's actions are immoral is Thoreau.

Mana Motuhake

Mana Māori Motuhake was a Māori political party in New Zealand. The name is difficult to translate accurately, but essentially refers to Māori self-rule and self-determination — mana, in this context, can be understood as "authority" or "power", while motuhake can be understood as "independent" or "separate".

History

Early years

Mana Motuhake was formed in 1979 by Matiu Rata, a member of the Labour Party. Rata had served as Minister of Māori Affairs in the third Labour government (1972–1975), but grew increasingly dissatisfied with the party's policy. Eventually deciding that Māori needed an independent voice, he quit the Labour Party in 1979. Shortly afterwards, he founded Mana Motuhake, and resigned from Parliament to contest a by-election under its banner. In the Northern Maori by-election of 1980, however, Rata was defeated by the new Labour candidate, Bruce Gregory.

Mana Motuhake stood candidates in the 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1990 general elections, but was unsuccessful on each occasion. The following table summarises the party's support in those general elections.