As he did three years ago, Rawiri Waititi looks to have ensured Te Pāti Māori will return to Parliament after this week’s election, with half of Waiariki voters opting for the incumbent in the latest poll.
In the Whakatau 2023 debate on Whakaata Māori, Waititi, however, said he wouldn’t be resting on his laurels and would continue to fight to earn the votes of the electorate.
“I don’t know if you deserve [to win a seat] but my thing is if you can continue to earn the confidence of the people to be that voice. Whether in opposition or in government, people obviously want a certain type of representation, and at the moment I feel really humbled that they continue to put their confidence in me. And I will continue to fight, as I have fought for the past three years, for the next three years if I continue to get their support.”
It is the first electorate so far polled by Whakaata Māori-Curia Market Research to show a Te Pāti Māori candidate ahead of a Labour counterpart. Despite trailing more than 20 points behind Waititi, Toni Boynton, who is 39th on the Labour list, says ensuring a strong Māori voice within the Labour Party, and potentially a Labour government is just as crucial.
“Waiariki has always been strategic in terms of giving the party vote to Labour. We still have to keep that faith because there is so much mahi that has gone on in terms of being able to get that but you still have to go through the process of supply and demand negotiations in terms of policies that you’re going to get over the line. You need a strong Māori representation in Labour to be able to sit at the table and to push that along.”
Waititi questioned, however, what purpose the largest Māori caucus had in the Labour Party during the last term.
“If there is any pou in the ground it has been by us, and I haven’t seen any pou, with the greatest Māori representation in government at this particular time. There’s been a huge disappointment but I think it can be strengthened if there was the unceded, unapologetic, unbridled, unfettered Maori voice sitting at that table.
“We’ve been doing this for 100 years, that Māori have been sitting around those particular tables and those Pākehā parties but I won’t allow a Prime Minister from the Hutt to make decisions for the Waiariki and what is the best for tangata whenua and for our people in the Waiariki.”
Whanaungatanga first, politics second
Throughout the campaign, the two candidates have been largely in agreement with each other and have demonstrated a healthy relationship despite fighting for the same job. That prompted moderator Tina Wickliffe to ask why they weren’t on the same side.
“This is bigger than politics for my tuahine and me. We are joined through whakapapa,” Waititi said.
“This is why we have this mutual agreement, and we want what is best for our mokopuna. Koirā te mea nui.”
Boynton responded by saying the Waiariki whānau were strategic with their voting and understood how the political system works.
“When it comes to being able to fulfil Māori aspiration, we also have to bring whānau with us. And that includes our Pākehā whānau and that includes being able to change the system incrementally and you need to have specific pou in different corners to hold that line in those spaces.”
The more who vote, the left wins
As in the previous five electorate debates so far, the rangatahi vote appears to be the key to victory at the polls. The poll also showed Waiariki voters would prefer Te Pāti Māori works with Labour in a coalition arrangement in government. Waititi said for that to be as effective as possible, Māori voters needed to provide as many of his party to Parliament as possible.
“I think our people are becoming more mature through MMP. They’re starting to break away from the FPP system because that’s back in 1993. We must break the chains of that type of rhetoric.
“If I were to play it, I would say Te Pāti Māori must have those seven Māori seats. The other thing is that the percentage that Labour gets doesn’t come from Māori voters, it gets those from Pākehā voters.”
Boynton says however it happens a Labour, Te Pāti Māori and Greens government is what the country needs.
“It would be one of the most inspiring governments that this country has ever seen.
“But the thing is, it is not a done deal. I know a lot of our whānau are sort of apathetic because National [is ahead] in the polls and things like that but statistics show that when there is a high voter turnout it is the left bloc that wins.
“That is the aspiration that I’m fighting for to ensure that we have one of the most inspirational governments this country has ever seen in terms of looking after our whānau, looking after Māori, our taiao and looking after everyone.”
