Maori Party President Sees Chance for Her People

Maori voters have just been given a chance to have a big say in who will form the next government of New Zealand after the 2017 General Election, according to the president of the Maori Party, Rangimarie Naida Glavish. “And not just a big say, but also a big play in that next government as a coalition partner if we use the power of our collective votes wisely.”

Ms Glavish was commenting on the announcement by Labour and the Greens that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to campaign together in next year’s election.

“The choice for Maori is simple: do we want to continue to depend on either of the two major Pakeha-dominated parties for scraps from the table, or do we combine our voting strength to sweep enough of the seven Maori seats to give us the balance of power. Ideally, we’d like all seven, but five are a realistic and achievable target, and would likely yield an extra two or three Party list seats.

“We’ve done it before. In 2005 our party won four out of seven Maori seats and 2.12% of the party vote gave us three list seats. We can do it again next year, if we unite as te iwi Maori, seize this moment in history, and vote for our own, independent party.

“So my call today to iwi, hapu and whanau right throughout Aotearoa, is tu Maori mai! Rise up again behind Te Paati Maori, and take our rightful place alongside our fellow Kiwis to give our country the stable, progressive government it needs to assure all of our people the happy and prosperous future we all deserve,” declared Ms Glavish.

ENDS

© Scoop Media