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June 15, 2022
Cheap shots leave Maori out of Tauranga by-election buzz
Adam Gifford
Posted On June 15, 2022
Download AudioA Tauranga social entrepreneur says Maori are in crouch and hold mode for the Tauranga by-election as their concerns are ignored.
Tommy Kapai Wilson says none of the candidates are Maori and there’s no focus on how to create the safe anchorage represented by the city’s name.
“That’s the issue they should be focusing on but it’s so much easier to put that political potae on and get some cheap votes by wanting to take gangs off the street by taking away their patch, their korowai – for some of them that’s the only thng they’ve got to hand onto. So political point scoring, finding easy things, don’t address the issues, and Maori are probably just crouching and holding and saying this is probably just a dummy run for the election,” he says.
Mr Wilson says a lot of Maori are moving to Tauranga looking for a fresh start, but they’re not getting the support they need.
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