November 09, 2020
Work ethic behind Allan’s East Coast win
A former Conservation Minister believes Kiritapu Allan will be excellent in the role and is a politician to watch for the future.
Sandra Lee now lives in Ms Allan's East Coast electorate and predicted three years ago she would eventually win the seat from National.
She says incumbent Ann Tolley had essentially gone to sleep before retiring and Ms Allan acted like the local MP, building up her profile and her relationships across the electorate.
"Not only is she competent in terms of matters Māori, going on the marae and talking to our kaumātua and that, she can walk onto every kiwifruit farm in this electorate and have discussions that are informed. She knows her stuff," Ms Lee says
Kiritapu Allan's visibility in the electorate, including her frequent appearances in local media, contrasted with the performance of her colleague Tamati Coffey, who lost the Waiariki seat to the Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi.
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