March 11, 2014
Short window to reach Maori voters
A Maori political blogger says Labour and the Maori Party would be wise to bring forward their candidate selection for Tamaki Makaurau because of the early election.
Labour has extended the period for nominations until the end of the month to allow for the investigation into whether expected front runner, Shane Taurima, used TVNZ resources to advance his political ambitions.
The Maori Party has also set a relaxed schedule, lining up four hui in the electorate before it finally chooses on May 4 who will try to retain the seat being vacated by Pita Shaples.
Morgan Godfrey from the Mauistreet blog says a serious campaign by new candidates requires at least six months of full time work and September 20 is getting closer every day.
"Confirmations need to happen this month, just to fit within that six-month window, just to do justice to Maori voters. You really can’t run a serious campaign without a lot of time. They can’t really hit the ground running. It will just be a nominal campaign if they are getting their candidate confirmations finished as late as May," he says.
Mr Godfrey says Maori issues are unlikely to feature high in the election campaign, and the challenge for Maori candidates will be to give a Maori dimension to issues like inequality and employment.
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