December 07, 2017
Hui puts community concerns before PM
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Labour’s Maori caucus are at Te Papaiouru Marae in Rotorua today in a show of solidarity for Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey.
They will also launch the kahui koeke, a selected group of elders who will advise the new MP and keep him connected with grass roots communities in the rohe.
Ms Ardern says now Labour holds all the Maori seats, she and the party feel the responsibility to deliver for those electorates.
"In every area there are going to be issues and we want to give people the opportunity, particularly on marae via hui, to tell us directly what they want to see for their community and Tamati did a great job. The day he was sworn in to parliament he talked directly about the things he had individually seen in different parts of his electorate that he wanted us to act on so this is the way for me to hear it from the people," she says.
The kahui koeke includes among others Kihi Ngatai, Rereamanu Wihapi, Hemana Eruera, Ron Tahi, Robert Edwards, and Ken Kennedy.
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