May 04, 2023
Davis keen to put Whaitiri in rear view mirror
Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis says the Government is moving on from Meka Whaitiri defection.
He says the Ikaroa Rawhiti MP’s decision to join the Māori Party came with no warning, and she has given no reasons that stack up.
He says what’s more important is continuing to address cyclone recovery efforts in her electorate, which is now the responsibility of Kieran McAnulty.
“We’ve got to make decisions around whether we can fix up people’s houses and they can carry on and get on with their lives, or whether we have to do some mitigation against flooding, or whether some people will not be able to continue living in the houses they are now because of the risk of being swept away in a flood so they are really important decisions that we have to engage closely with both councils but more essentially with communities. That is the focus we should have in Ikaroa Rawhiti, not the issue of MPs,” Mr Davis says.
Kieran McAnulty got off to a good start in his new role with an announcement of over $100 million for the removal of silt and debris from around residential properties.