More to Māori than moni says Te Pati Māori

Gideon Porter More to Māori than moni says Te Pati Māori

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Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has taken a swipe at National’s boast it’s becoming a more Māori-friendly party.

National leader Chris Luxon points to Tama Potaka in Hamilton West, Dan Bidois in Northcote, James Meager in Rangitata, and David MacLeod in Taranaki – as examples of strong Māori candidates.

Ms Ngarewa-Packer says National only wants Maori as economic partners, not co-governance partners.

“So you know you get to have one without the other. You don’t get to be my partner in investments as Taranaki and not my partner in kaitiakitanga as Taranaki, because for us it’s all one. So, National’s going to be caught out wanting,” she says.

Ms Ngarewa-Packer says central and local government are increasingly partnering with iwi on housing, sustainable resource management, and other issues … and National needs to stop thinking only economic development is important to Maori.

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