Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says soaring electricity costs are about more than keeping the lights on, arguing Māori ownership and economic rangatiratanga must become part of the debate over Aotearoa’s energy future.
The party’s new Energy Sovereignty policy would establish a $1 billion fund to support Māori and community-owned energy assets, develop a long-term national energy plan and give regulators stronger powers to respond to what the party considers excessive electricity prices and profits.
Te Pāti Māori also wants whānau and communities generating or storing electricity to receive what it describes as fair value for that power, while setting a pathway towards energy sovereignty by 2035.
Waititi says the fundamental question is not simply how much renewable electricity Aotearoa produces, but who owns the generation, who receives the profits and whether whānau see the benefits through lower power costs.
The policy arrives as network costs place further pressure on household bills. The Commerce Commission says transmission and distribution account for just over 30 percent of an average electricity bill, with network costs expected to continue rising through to at least 2030 as infrastructure is replaced and upgraded.
But Waititi’s wider political focus is also on Te Tiriti and the treatment of Māori inside and outside Parliament, following the controversy surrounding co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s removal from the House this week.
That debate comes alongside a significant Waitangi Tribunal finding over the Government’s curriculum reforms. The Tribunal found Crown breaches of Treaty principles in the way changes affecting Māori education were developed, including shortcomings around partnership and consideration of Māori aspirations.
For Te Pāti Māori, the issues are connected by a broader argument about mana, ownership and decision-making — from who controls electricity infrastructure to who shapes the education of tamariki Māori.
With Election 2026 approaching, Waititi is putting a clear set of questions before voters: who owns the power, who makes the decisions, and how much authority should Māori communities have over the systems affecting their lives?
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