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New Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi says bringing the Māori Party back from the brink of oblivion is a fairytale story – and one with many more chapters to write.
Mr Waititi is waiting on special votes to confirm his slim margin over Labour’s Tamati Coffey, after a neck and neck race throughout election night.
He’s thrilled to have beaten the pollsters and those who had written the party off after its 2017 wipeout.
"It’s a fairytale story in terms of the appetite for our people to ensure there is a strong Māori voice holding this government accountable for decisions made that impact on our people. There is a mood for change and come 2023 I think the waka will see many more of our electorates fall to the Māori Party because only a Māori Party has been brave enough to put a pou in the ground that no other party has done ever in terms of our liberation and our self governance," he says.
Mr Waititi says the campaign was a massive whānau effort, with father in law John Tamihere also running in Tāmaki Makaurau.
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