Mother-of-five Kariana Black-Vercoe says she will fight for what is right.
Black-Vercoe is standing the Rotorua electorate for the NewZeal Party in this year’s general election.
“I’m standing because my late husband, he was a local and regional politician, and he always stood up for what was right.
“And withhaving now been left behind with five adult children — they were young children at the time — I realised pretty quickly that now it was my responsibility to protect them, to stand up for what was right.”
She says she believes in democracy, but over recent years she’s seen it threatened.
“I could just sit back and let everybody else fight for me, but I’ve learned as a mum that actually that’s my responsibility to fight for what is right. Not just for my children, but for our nation right now.”
She says elected politicians should be public servants.
“We should be serving the people and the people should be heard. Us, the people, should be heard about what we want. And in recent years, that’s not what I’ve seen. I’ve seen the people cry out for justice, yet decisions have been passed through without their permission.”
NewZeal Party candidate for Rotorua Kariana Black-Vercoe. Photo / Andrew Warner
“I think being of dual ethnicity is a strength in this time because we see every election year, racial issues being used as a political football, but I care for not just Māori rights and what is right according to their views, but also Pākehā, and all ethnicities really.
“My belief is that we need to work together for the good of the country. And that’s the vision of NewZeal, is to work with you for the good of the country. I think I carry those attributes of having those courageous conversations about those really tricky issues around Te Tiriti, the Treaty of Waitangi and things like that where people can feel heard in a forum that they can express their views without being ‘cancelled’ or called a racist.”
Black-Vercoe is a teacher trainer, with years of experience in the education sector.
“I hear what’s out in schools. I see the attendance in schools is at an all-time low, so we really need innovative leadership right now and I bring that as well. Our key priority is around families and involving the parents regarding any kind of ideology in schools.”
She also believes farmers are going through a tough time, and says NewZeal supports the farming community, because “without our farmers we won’t have food — it’s as simple as that”.
“So if you put unreasonable measures in front of our farmers, then who pays for it?
