The Tāmaki Makaurau byelection is a chance for Opposition parties to showcase their visions.
Labour and Te Pāti Māori aim to address key issues such as jobs, housing and health.
The byelection to determine the new MP for Tāmaki Makaurau will be held on September 6.
The coming byelection for Tāmaki Makaurau is an opportunity for Opposition parties to show they can work together civilly and start to lay out the vision for what an alternative government would look like. At the same time, Labour and Te Pāti Māori must clearly show their differencesin policy and personality to effectively engage voters.
Before I go on, I want to extend my aroha to the family of Takutai Tarsh Kemp. She was a leader and is gone too soon. Her passing, while waiting for a kidney transplant, and the overcrowding she saw in hospital while being treated should be a wake-up call for the need to better fund our health system.
I should also note that Oriini Kaipara, the Te Pāti Māori candidate for the byelection, is my cousin’s daughter. She would be a fine MP. But that doesn’t mean I buy into the arguments from some that Labour should have stood aside and not put up a candidate, allowing Kaipara to take the seat uncontested.
No electorate belongs to any party and Peeni Henare (who was Tāmaki Makaurau’s MP for three terms until he lost to Kemp by 42 votes) has every right to try to win the seat back. And, contrary to some claims that Henare winning would mean fewer Māori in Parliament, if he wins the electorate, Labour will have an empty list seat, with the next in line being the wāhine Māori Georgie Dansey.
Labour's Peeni Henare was Tāmaki Makaurau’s MP for three terms and is fighting to win the seat back. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Having a contested campaign is good for Labour and Te Pāti Māori. It will allow both parties to give their election campaign machines a run and put forward their vision to people who have been hard hit by this Government’s poor decisions and negligence.
According to the latest census, construction is the biggest employer for Tāmaki Makaurau voters. It’s also been a sector that’s been hammered by the Government stopping large infrastructure projects mid-stream and cutting off funding for building more state houses.
Oriini Kaipara is the Te Pāti Māori candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection. Photo / Supplied
Fifteen thousand construction jobs have been lost in the past two years. Nationwide, the economy has lost 34,000 jobs in the past year and Māori unemployment is over 10%. Rising costs for basics such as food, GP visits, prescriptions, and electricity are hitting whānau who are dealing with job losses, all while being characterised as dole bludgers by a Government that seemingly has no solutions.
With 79% of Tāmaki Makaurau voters renting, they’re also feeling the pinch of continuing rent rises. The reality is most of our people work, but no matter how hard they work, even holding down two jobs, they just cannot get ahead in life.
Many whānau live in overcrowded homes, with the constant spectre of having nowhere to live as the Government has brought back no-cause evictions and cut off access to emergency housing.
Those are clearly key issues for voters, who are unimpressed by this Government’s lack of delivery and their carelessness towards the hurt people are feeling.
But voters aren’t yet ready to fully embrace Labour – probably because of the lack of a vision and policy to go with those priorities.
This byelection is an opportunity for Labour to start putting some meat on those bones and present themselves as an alternative government that people can trust with their vote. For Te Pāti Māori, holding on to Tāmaki Makaurau will be an important goal, to cement their hold on the Māori seats and prove that 2023 wasn’t a passing high-tide mark, like 2008 was.
It will also be a test of how they handle more mainstream media attention. Next year, National will spend a huge amount of money and energy trying to show that a vote for Labour is a vote for Te Pāti Māori and that they are too extreme to be let near power.
It will be up to Te Pāti Māori to prove that fear-mongering wrong. Labour and Te Pāti Māori will need to use this byelection to show they can compete while keeping things civil and positive.
Oriini Kaipara and Peeni Henare are excellent candidates, and I’m not making a pick on who will win. I am confident that whoever is elected will be able to represent our people well. I hope that the winner will work tirelessly for more jobs, more houses and better public services. Two years of cuts and negligence have left our people hurting. It’s time for some hope.
