May 05, 2023
Whaitiri a cert for seat says Māori Party head
Māori Party president John Tamihere says it will be a hard ask for anyone but Meka Whaitiri to win Ikaroa Rawhiti.
He says Ms Whaitiri’s defection yesterday came after a recent approach from her whanau.
He says it took courage for her to give up a ministerial position and move to the cross benches, but another term in parliament should be certain given the history of voters supporting the incumbent.
“The last person that got turned out of that seat was Ta Apirana Ngata in 1943. That seat was the last seat to fall to Ratana under a Labour banner. The closest it came to being lost was when Derek Fox came within 600 votes of beating Parekura Horomia in 1999,” Mr Tamihere says
He’s talking with other Green and Labour Party people about coming over to the Maori Party.