Te Pāti Māori will not stand a candidate in the Tauranga byelection. Photo / George Novak
The Māori Party's decision to not stand a candidate in Tauranga's byelection for safety reasons has left some other candidates insulted and upset.
Te Pāti Māori president Che Wilson announced the decision on Friday and labelled Tauranga a hotspot for white supremacy.
"A Department of Internal Affairs report published in April this year confirmed that hate speech from white supremacists on social media is the largest form of hate speech in this country," Wilson said.
"Tauranga is a hotspot.
"By standing in the byelection, we would be consciously sending our people into an unsafe environment and can only imagine how hard this is for our whanaunga and iwi of Tauranga Moana."
Wilson said the hate speech and belittling of te reo at a public event were examples of concern.
"Tauranga residents have been subjected to white supremacist leaflet drops, and even our co-leaders have been the recipient of threats and hate speech by Tauranga residents.
"We know Tauranga Moana is an amazing place; rich with history and there is hope, but sadly, this is politics, and the race card will mean that Māori will be used by some as a political football and we are unwilling to expose our people to that rubbish," he said.
The byelection is to replace National MP Simon Bridges, who has stepped down from politics.
Minister of Internal Affairs and Labour candidate, MP Jan Tinetti, said she was sad the party didn't think it was safe.
"I'm really sad for them that they feel that way, but it's a decision that each individual party does have to make."
Asked if Tauranga was a racist city, Tinetti said: "There's a growing diversity and I think that Tauranga is richer for it.
"But I think the Māori Party has a point," she said.
"There are people who have put their head up above the parapet and we know that those people certainly have a racist element, but really that's not what I see on a day-to-day basis.
"I think it's very much becoming a minority. Sometimes, unfortunately, it's a loud minority."
The white supremacist flyers Wilson referenced were pasted to the windows of Tinetti and fellow Labour list MP Angie Warren-Clark's shared Tauranga office in April.
The leaflets were titled "It's all right to be white" and had previously been distributed in the suburb of Matua.
Tinetti condemned the pamphlets but did not want to "glorify the behaviour".
"I will call out racism, call it out every single time, because if you don't, you're complicit in it," she said.
Act candidate Cameron Luxton said he was insulted Tauranga was labelled a hotspot for white supremacy and called for the party to apologise.
"It's just wrong to say something like that, about a group of people who go about their lives, treating each other with dignity.
"And when that sort of slander is thrown against a whole town it's not right," Luxton said.
"I grew up in this city and I'm raising my family here. It's full of wonderful, hardworking and caring people.
"Like all cities, there are isolated incidents of racism. What we need is political leaders that reject racism and seek common ground.
"Instead, the Māori Party is trying to fight racism by stereotyping a whole group of people," he said.
New Conservative co-leader and Tauranga candidate Helen Houghton said racism was an individual issue, "not a city issue".
"It is absurd to claim a whole city is racist because a few people have a view that might differ from others."
Houghton said racism was "thrown about too frequently".
Independent candidate Peter Wakeman said the Māori Party's decision was disappointing.
"I do acknowledge some small pockets of racism, but I believe the real factor stems from inequality."
NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party candidate Sue Grey said she had not seen racism in the month she had been living in Tauranga.
"I've seen a lot of people who are really concerned about the changes in New Zealand over the last couple of years.
"We are all in this waka together. The more we listen, understand, respect and co-operate with each other, the more chance we have of enjoying the journey," Grey said.
Candidates from the National Party, New Nation Party and Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party were also approached for comment.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
By Kiri Gillespie
Former Tauranga MP Winston Peters has rubbished Te Pāti Māori's claims, and says they are "just plain wrong".
In a statement, the New Zealand First leader said the Māori Party's stance was "a ridiculous insult to the voters".
"The Māori Party accusing Tauranga residents as being racist is the 'pot calling the kettle white'.
"The ignorance of the history of the electorate is palpable."
Peters was elected to the MP role in 1984 and was the fifth Māori MP to gain a general seat. He retained the Tauranga seat until 2005 when former MP Bob Clarkson took over, eventually making way for former MP Simon Bridges in 2008.
Peters left Tauranga and went on to be Deputy Prime Minister in the Labour coalition Government before his party was ousted in the 2020 election.
Peters said Tauranga had an MP of Māori ancestry for 35 of the past 38 years and the Māori Party "race-baiting" was something New Zealanders were growing sick and tired of.
"They seem to forget that representation in Parliament means to represent everyone no matter what race, gender, colour, or creed – but perhaps that doesn't suit their race-based narrative."
The jury's marathon deliberations ran for two weeks.