On the Campaign, October 12: What you missed on the election campaign today

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Soraya Peke-Mason, Harete Hipango. Photo / RNZ

Six years after Labour essentially forced Te Pāti Māori out of Parliament, the two parties are in a tighter race for control of the country’s seven Maori electorates.

In 2017, Labour’s decision to put their Māori MPs as electorate-only helped fuel an electorate dissatisfied with how the Māori Party had operated under nine years in coalition with National.

Since the party’s comeback in 2020, it has rebranded as Te Pāti Māori and taken on more of a protest and activist mindset.

NZ Herald political reporter Michael Neilson told On the Campaign that that has contributed to a resurgence for the party.

“They’ve increased their party vote to 3 per cent, which doesn’t sound like a lot but it could get them four, maybe five, MPs from the list.

“But the seats themselves, we’ve really seen that support continue as well. People are thinking in those seats, a vote for the Māori party isn’t a wasted vote anymore as it might have been in the past, as they are in Parliament and people are seeing the work they are doing.

“So we’re really seeing some quite close contests emerge.”

Neilson said there are three seats where things will be tightest, including Te Tai Hauāuru, where deputy co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is in a race against Labour’s Soraya Peke-Mason and National’s Harete Hipango.

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti made headlines this year when its MP, then-Labour Minister Meka Whaitiri, defected to Te Pāti Māori. She is now hoping to hold onto the seat, which Te Pāti Māori has never won, against her replacement from Labour, Cushla Tangaere-Manue.

Hauraki Waikato is held by Labour’s Nanaia Mahuta, and is facing a strong content from Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who could make history as the youngest MP in over a century if she gets in, but Neilson said Mahuta will likely be returned as she commands such respect in her community.

Listen to the full episode of On the Campaign for the full rundown of today’s big election stories.

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