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The chair of Labour’s Maori caucus says he appreciates the reasons Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta has put her hand up for the Labour leadership.
Ms Mahuta put in her nomination just minutes before yesterday’s deadline, after revealing her intention to the Maori caucus.
The party’s longest-serving Maori MP says the leadership contest will be a way to reconnect with more people in their communities, including those in the Maori electorates, in South Auckland and amongst Pasifika and ethnic communities who turned out to vote Labour in last month’s election.
Peeni Henare says it’s important that Maori be an essential part of the race, and Ms Mahuta’s presence will ensure that.
He says the Maori caucus will have an open door policy with all four candidates, and intends to meet them all individually when the full caucus meets in Whanganui over the weekend.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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