August 07, 2013
Māori in north standing together
A bid to get more Māori involved in local body elections in the north is gaining pace, with at least six Māori candidates confirmed for the Whangarei District Council and Northland Regional Council.
Tu Kotahi organiser Mike Kake says that’s the highest number of Māori candidates ever to stand.
He says it’s a two-pronged strategy.
"One is about encouraging people to stand, Tu Kotahi is about standing as one, and also about standing united on behalf of communities, so get people to stand and then get our people to the polls to support those candidates, so it’s getting leverage off having a number of Māori candidates," Mr Kake says.
He says with almost 40 percent of Whangarei’s population being Māori, it shows something has gone wrong that there is only one Māori on the current council.
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