A kaupapa Māori lobbyist says a podcast debate scheduled between ACT leader David Seymour and Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira CEO Helmut Modlik is a populist political move with no benefits to Māori.
Tomorrow, The Working Group, a weekly podcast by Martyn ’Bomber’ Bradbury & Damien Grant will be hosting their debate live on YouTube.
Awhi founder Holly Bennett says if Seymour genuinely wanted to have discussions with Māori he should have turned up to events like Koroneihana and hui-a-motu and spoken to iwi leaders kanohi kitea, not on some political podcast.
“In te ao Māori, we back up what we say, but you say it in person, because that’s actually where you start to find commonalities, and that’s where you actually find a shared solution. Because this, is just a win or lose. I don’t see anyone coming out of this, in any way, shape or form, where there’s been an element of whakamana,” Ms Bennett says.
