Atareta Poananga, Maori Party, Ikaroa-Rawhiti

Atareta Poananga

The Greens say your party is an apologist for Mugabe's campaign of genocide and Phil Goff says it is applying reverse racism. True?

No, we have a historical situation in Zimbabwe where Africa has been colonised over the centuries and people who are arising out of that colonisation into their own rangatiratanga need time to sort out their own affairs.

The party has talked about wanting independent verification on Zimbabwe from groups such as Amnesty International, yet that group's New Zealand wing called the stand "incredibly naive".

That's the spin the media will put on something they don't understand. We want to support indigenous peoples to grow better democracies rather than attack them.

You were the first Maori woman diplomat in Foreign Affairs - does the department understand the issues important to indigenous peoples and racism generally?

No. When there I was trying to raise those issues of mana and rangatiratanga in creating relationships with Maori as a first-world nation. Our foreign policy should be created through the lens of a two-world view: the Maori culture and the Pakeha culture.

Your father was in the Maori Battalion and then a United Nations peacekeeper, how has that influenced you?

It gave me a global perspective. I grew up in the Middle East and Malaya and that gave me insight into the struggle of indigenous people.

You were educated in Syria and Israel.

Yes. I was also educated at the political studies department in Auckland University and had the same mentors as Helen Clark and Phil Goff. I could have gone into Labour. But it was the days of Matiu Rata and I chose to go down that route.

Were they in your class?

Phil Goff was in my year. He was a long-haired radical in those days. I'm still radically minded, but I've got short hair.

The head of the self-styled Maori Government of Aotearoa, Gisborne-based Sue Nikora, accused your party of being part of the "colonial Government". Is your party "colonised"?

Definitely not. We believe we can achieve the aspirations of our people sharing our place in Parliament as the treaty partner. I empathise with the aspiration they have, but not the means. You cannot make change in a paddock or parading around in uniforms.

You're battling the Minister of Maori Affairs Parekura Horomia for the Ikaroa-Rawhiti seat - name his greatest strength and greatest weakness.

His greatest strength is his background, a whole variety of work he's done at grassroots level and in the trades he has undertaken. It gives him a good base on which to represent Maori opinion. His greatest weakness is that he's not able to stand up to the obvious racism in the Labour Party.

Does your No 3 ranking on the Maori Party list recognise he could be hard to beat?

No, it is on the basis of my long track record in Maoridom. The fact I've had more political experience than most of the other candidates, except for Tariana. They have faith that I can do the job.

You've been a politician of sorts for many years - what drives you?

The whanau I come from has always been in public life. My grandmother was the first Maori woman to graduate [overseas] with a degree. My grandfather also was a lawyer. I come from a family who have put aside other personal objectives to help our people.

You've been a prominent critic of Te Runanga o Ngati Porou - why?

The runanga has a lot to offer our people but I'm not in favour of the relationships between the Crown and our people being one of master and servant ... We don't need to be patronised and it has colonised our own governance processes.

You've said your party will devolve power back to hapu. How?

We'll have lots of hui with our people to look at what are the appropriate political governance models.