April 13, 2023
Boynton giving lesson on Māori voting power
Labour’s Waiariki candidate will have a lot to say on the campaign trail about the power of the vote.
Toni Boynton announced her candidacy at the Tūhoe Ahurei on the weekend in her home area of Waimana.
The Whakatane District Councillor and mother of four is known for driving the petition to make it simpler for councils to create Māori seats, and she’s also doing a postgraduate study on ways to improve civics or voting education.
She says while incumbent MP Rawiri Waititi talks up the value of the Māori Party, the reality is it doesn’t have the votes to get legislative change.
“They have done their job in making a lot of noise which is pretty much all they can do in terms of pushing for things for Māori but at the end of the day you need a party in there that has the numbers to be able to get things across the line and to produce the goods and that’s why I’m supporting Labour,” Ms Boynton says.
She’ll make the case to voters that Labour has achieved more for Māori in the past six years than under any previous government.