June 01, 2021
Hipango ready to be voice for indigenous rights
National’s next MP says she’s looking forward to being a strong Māori voice in caucus.
Harete Hipango is returning to parliament thanks to the resignation of Nick Smith.
The former Whanganui MP says she’s been watching from afar leader Judith Collins; attempts to whip up concern about He Puapua, the independent advisory group report on how New Zealand should respond to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She agrees the report should have been made public long before it was leaked to National, but she’s not afraid of its recommendations.
"There are some recommendations in that report that many New Zealanders, possibly of the older generation and persuasion are not accustomed to, but I'm mindful looking to the future we've got a whole new generation and thinking of New Zealanders. My children, your children, our children We shouldn't feel uncomfortable with engaging and addressing what we need to in a new age and generation," Ms Hipango says.
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