Vision NZ leader Hannah Tamaki will contest the Tāmaki Makaurau seat after gaining 1100 votes in Waiariki in 2020 and her party plans to stand candidates in the other Māori seats under the Freedoms NZ umbrella.
Vision NZ spokesperson Sonny Wilcox told teaonews.co.nz better outcomes for whānau would once again be the foundation of the party’s campaign.
“Mōhio ana tāua te maha o ngā raru, te maha o ngā āwangawanga e tae mai ana i runga i te iwi Māori.
(We know that Māori are the most impacted by the trials and tribulations that affect whānau.)
“Ko ngā mea kore kainga, ko ngā mea pōhara me pēhea mātou o Vision NZ e awhi atu ki te whakakore tērā wehenga nui i te mea rawakore me te mea whai rawa. Koinā tētahi o ngā mea matua o te pāti nei, me ngā mea kore kainga, kore mahi, kore mātauranga. Kore tāea te haere atu ki ngā kura ki te whai mātauranga. He maha ngā kaupapa heoi anō ko te kore kāinga te mea nui me te pōharatanga.”
(Homelessness and poverty. What can Vision NZ do to help bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. That is one of the big policies - homelessness, poverty, unemployment and poor education - poor access to education for whānau. There are a number of policies we have but housing and poverty are our main ones.)
Growing individual support
Tamaki will contest the Tāmaki Makaurau seat against incumbent Peeni Henare of Labour, Takutai Moana Kemp of Te Pāti Māori, Darleen Tana of the Greens and Hinurewa te Hau of National.
Vision NZ, standing on its own, entered five candidates in the 2020 election where the party returned 0.15 per cent of the vote. Current polls show a similar level of support in 2023. It has formed a coalition under the Freedoms NZ banner that includes the Outdoors and Freedom Party, Rock the Vote and Yes Aotearoa.
Former Māori Party Hauraki-Waikato candidate Donna Pokere-Phillips will again challenge Nanaia Mahuta this time standing as the candidate for the Outdoors and Freedom Party.
While the Vision NZ party as a whole doesn’t seem to be registering in political polls, the candidates it has in various electorates have growing support, Wilcox says.
“Ahakoa mātou he pāti āhua pakupaku, ko ngā hunga e tū ana ki ngā rohe kei te tino mōhio rātou o ngā hapori rā, ngā ringa raupā, ko ngā hunga kei te tū te awhi i ngā whānau. Kei reira te tautoko.”
(Although we are a small party, the people who are standing know their communities, they are on the ground supporting whānau. That is where their support will come from.)
Wilcox himself stood in 2020 in the Manurewa seat but says he won’t be doing so again this year in order to support the party’s campaign.
