Minister Kieran McAnulty has sparked concerns following his recent comments about Affordable Water Reforms.
The Local Government Minister said on TVNZ's Q&A that the local representative groups comprised of council representatives and mana whenua didn't reflect a "one-person, one vote" model.
He says that because the proportion of mana whenua in the groups is higher than the proportion in New Zealand's population.
Auckland University Education Professor Elizabeth Rata says democracy rests on the idea that rights belong to the individual as a citizen because representatives in Parliament are accountable to citizens.
"It's not just simply the idea of a model of democracy, one person, one vote. No, it goes really deep into the very heart of accountability of politicians to us, the people."
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