Listen Now: 
Download AudioA Taurangamoana kaumātua isn’t expecting any upside for Māori from Saturday’s Tauranga by-election.
There’s no Māori candidate, and National’s Sam Uffindell is expected to easily beat Labour’s Jan Tinetti.
Buddy Mikaere says the city’s Māori population hasn’t featured in the campaign, and that’s a reflection of the overwhelming demographics of New Zealand’s fastest-growing city.
“Overwhelmingly it’s old, it’s male, it’s pale and it’s very, very stale, an ageing pākeha demographic who don’t want change, who want an easy cruise down through retirement, who don’t want to make a financial contribution to our community by way of increased rates,” he says.
Mr Mikaere says only one of the 12 candidates has talked about the deep pockets of poverty which are behind many of the city’s social problems.
RELATED NEWS
