October 12, 2020
Maori Party words great, numbers off
Labour's Tāmaki Makaurau candidate says his main opponent is coming up with some great sounding policies – but has no word on how to pay for them.
Peeni Henare is only six points up on the Māori Party's John Tamihere, with 17 percent of voters still undecided.
The campaign has at times seemed an extension of their day jobs, where the Waipareira head has demanded more money for Whānau Ora and the minister says he has delivered it, even if not in the way Mr Tamihere wants.
Mr Henare says there is a lot of agreement, but Māori Party policies like doubling benefit rates would cost an extra $32 billion a year to government spending.
"If you take that policy and look across all the other policies any suggestion they have been costed is absolute rubbish. The numbers just don't stack up," he says.
Peeni Henare says as someone raised around Waitangi he is also sympathetic to calls for a Māori parliament, but the question is what it will take to get there and how long.
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