Three aspiring candidates contesting three different Māori electorates on behalf of three different parties sat down on Te Ao with Moana - and ended on a soulful and uplifting note with the trio singing Ngā Iwi E, the activist anthem penned by the late Dr Hirini Melbourne in the mid-80s.
Could those perfect harmonies symbolise the potential for unity towards a shared vision, despite divergent views on how to get there?
“These are just different waka that we are on for this part of our journey,” insisted Green candidate Tania Waikato.
“But the Māori waka is the one that we’re on for our lifetimes.”
So, how might those ‘different waka’ serve Māori, given all three political parties have copped criticism from Māori; Labour for ‘not being bold enough,’ Greens for being ‘all over the place’ and Te Pāti Māori as ‘performative’?
Haley Maxwell is a youth worker who has been active in organising protests against attempts to undermine Te Tiriti. Standing for Ikaroa Rāwhiti, the Te Pāti Māori candidate and experienced kapa haka performer staunchly defends her party.
“They call it theatrics, I call it engagement!
“So now we’ve got a whole movement of Māori and Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Moana who know about Te Tiriti, thanks to Te Pāti Māori and their so-called ‘theatrics’.”
Maxwell credits Te Pāti Māori with normalising Māori presence in a colonial space, citing a change in dress codes as a small victory.
“We’ve been an unapologetic voice within that house,” the Gisborne-based candidate declares.
“Making little chip-aways at the system…in a system that doesn’t reflect us at all.”
When asked whether the party has ‘settled down’, Maxwell nods in the affirmative, then adds, “whatever that looks like!”
When the question was put as to whether a candidate can be ‘unapologetically Māori’ and not be a member of Te Pāti Māori, all three agreed.
“Wherever we live around the world,” says Kerrin Leoni, who spent ten years working in the UK, “and whatever party we are aligned to, we are unapologetically Māori, and we will continue to be.”
Leoni’s key focus will be on the cost of living, but also reclaiming strategies like Te Aka Whai Ora - the Labour-led Māori health authority disestablished by the current government.
It’s not Leoni’s first shot at the national election. Selected as the Labour candidate for the Waikato electorate in 2020, Kerrin was beaten by the National representative.
The mother of nine-year-old twins was the first Māori woman councillor on the Auckland City council and challenged Wayne Brown in the mayoralty race last year. She’s clear that roles in both local and central government should be ‘normalised’ for Māori.
After the conversation turned to the number of Māori in parliament, Tania Waikato singled out Winston Peters for his rhetoric over the issue.
“It’s not about the numbers of Māori in Parliament, it’s about the numbers of Māori in Parliament who are actually there to work for our people,” says Waikato.
Leoni points to a big challenge for all candidates, Māori in particular.
“We know that there are thousands of Māori between 18 to 35 that are not even enrolled to vote,” adds Leoni.
Yet, why would an 18-year-old bother to vote, particularly now?
“For me...it’s communication and then breaking down the issues into bite-sized chunks that they can understand how it affects them,” says Waikato.
When asked if the label ‘radical’ fits the Greens, Waikato suggests it can.
“If you think that having a good environment and looking after people is radical, yes, some people do find that radical.”
Labour and Te Pāti Māori have had high-profile defections in the past. So, how might candidates deal with tension between responsibility to the community, hapū, iwi and the party? Maxwell is adamant she would not find herself in that space because hers is the ‘people’s party’. Leoni was hopeful that she might be able to bring the sides together and negotiate a resolution.
While Waikato insisted the Greens would take the lead from her and her people. A key point to emerge from the conversation was a shared commitment towards a vision that is Tiriti-centric, inclusive and mokopuna-focused.
“We need to be in these different parties, pushing them in the same direction in our own different ways,” says Waikato.
Early days yet, but at the moment, there’s a sense of wāhine in tune with each other as they embark on the campaign trail.
Watch full episodes of Te Ao with Moana on Māori+.
