READER QUESTIONS
Those who dislike co-governance claim that it splits Aotearoa in half, and that it creates separate systems, rights and access to services dependent on race. How does that type of kōrero make you feel?
Meka Whaitiri: Co-governance is really code for Crown running the whole show. And we have had the Crown on the hill for longer than 183 years and yet we are still dying young, highly incarcerated, our kids are in state care, we’re homeless and everything — we shouldn’t be but we are. So Te Pāti Māori absolutely believes it’s time to move those systems aside and bring aboard our own solutions. That’s what Te Pāti Māori’s policies are, they are about empowering ourselves and co-governance is just code for “you get to be at the table, but we run the table, we write the rules”.
How did Cyclone Gabrielle affect you and what have you done since?
Meka Whaitiri: So I went to go to Parliament, the weather forecast wasn’t good so we had to go down to Parliament. Then of course, Monday morning, I got a phone call from my sister to say it was flooded, can they all evacuate into my home in Whakatu? Of course you say “yes”, but of course, you don’t want to be in Wellington, you want to be able to find them. So I jumped in my car, yes it was an electric car but it was the only car I could get at 7am in the morning, and I shot out and I came home, driving to be home. Once I got home, everybody else had no power, no internet, only a barbecue, I had some food. Then 26 days without stop I was based here in Hawke’s Bay Te Matau a Māui and I did all the marae, I ran kai out to Pōrangahau, I just checked in on all our people. As soon as I could get my flight to Wairoa I left to Wairoa, as soon as I could get a flight to Tokomaru Bay I went to Tokomaru Bay. And then I asked the Government to bring $15 million in to relieve the pressure on marae. It was marae who opened their doors to look after people.
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
My question to you is about our health system and how it is being run? It is quite sad—- our people need to be more listened to.
Meka Whaitiri: Kia ora to that question, so the Māori health authority was a Te Pāti Māori kaupapa that Labour picked up. But what is happening with it now, that is the Māori Health Authority, is from our perspective it is not getting properly resourced. It is purely a policy agency. They are not an advisory group, we’ve tried all those approaches for 183 years. Unless we let Māori in the driving seat for management right through the organisation and appropriately
resource it, then we’re not going to see the fair health outcomes. But we played around with how are we going to address it, it has to be Māori-led, We just want equal funding so they can deliver a much better product for our people.
Petrol is now close to $3 a litre. How will you and your party ensure that the cost of fuel doesn’t cripple New Zealand whānau?
Meka Whaitiri: I used to bike to Whakatu. Of course, biking is one of many alternative transports that are fair and cheaper. Te Pāti Māori would make free public transport available for everybody. In terms of the question around petrol, obviously we want to decarbonise so we want to get out of fossil fuels and we want to transition. So we want what we call a $1 billion clean energy fund, Te Pāti Māori’s policy. We want to invest in alternative energy sources, but honestly, electric cars are the only alternative to petrol cars so we have a better subsidy incentivising and encouraging electric cars. and encouraging electric cars.
Overseas investors are buying productive whenua. They’re planting pine trees for carbon credits. What do you think of that? Is there anything that you and your party can do about it?
Meka Whaitiri: Once upon a time we enjoyed 100 percent care of Aotearoa New Zealand. There is now 5.6 percent of whenua in Māori hands. So we have given quite a bit for the development of this nation. A couple of things — the economic development policy, talks about the formation of a regionally based overseas investment office. At the moment the overseas investment office is one interface which gives approval to buy whenua and whatever they want on the land. So Te Pāti Māori policy is we should be sitting at that table so when decisions on investors coming in occur, then iwi give the green light. Having said that, I do know that there are whenua Māori owners that are on carbon credits so there is a fine balance. I always believe it has to go back to the landowners in conjunction with their community and their people and what best fits, and what they want to do with this great economic opportunity.
Can we please have more Māori representing Ikaroa-Rāwhiti?
Meka Whaitiri: Kia ora guys, so two things. The way to get more Māori in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is for everybody to jump from the general roll and join the Māori roll. The second thing, I’ve joined a movement and that is around returning the Māori seats to Te Pāti Māori. We should never ever have someone else who can speak with us or speak for us. Te Pāti Māori is 100 percent unapologetically Māori. We’re not part of a caucus, we are the caucus. We don’t have to line up our priorities with others because we are the priority. So the way to address that is we get all Māori off the general roll on to the Māori roll and take seven Māori electorate seats to potentially 14. It won’t be this election, but it is something to strive for. Kia ora.
Cushla Tangaere‑Manuel: We have to vote. There is a really good point about representation and we have got an opportunity right now. I’ve elected not to be on the list. I’m running, I’ve been asked to run, and I want to be the elected voice of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. That is how I want to get in. We’ve got an opportunity to have at least two of us particularly because according to polling, Meka is in.
If you are elected for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, what will you do for kura kaupapa Māori across the motu?
Cushla Tangaere‑Manuel: Already Labour has invested heavily in the physical requirements of kura kaupapa Māori and we will continue to invest in all aspects of Māori tamariki who may not have had the chance. But under a Labour Government, our investment, targeted investment in kaupapa Māori has averaged $1 billion a year. We’re not going to stop there. That’s something that I want to grow on.
Meka Whaitiri: So Te Pāti Māori supports kura kaupapa, so much - we think the funding for it is not equitable. So we want 25 percent of the education budget to go to Māori learning and education. It is currently not that. So our kura kaupapa, our Māori immersion schools, our Māori students, are working for others on their future. We always say we should set up our own Māori education authority and that we will take 25 percent of the budget. And so people always ask me “why 25 percent?” Well we are actually 20 percent of the population and 5 percent is back pay.
Editor’s questions
Meka you had to give up your role as cyclone lead recovery minister for Hawke’s Bay. Do you feel you let cyclone victims and the region down when you did that?
Meka Whaitiri: Not at all. I pushed as hard as I could. I will be really clear that the frustration that I’ve had is the Government of the day not leaning in to deliver the outcomes the communities of Te Matau a Māui deserved and needed in a timely manner. And I have lots of examples but I don’t want to bore you with it. But trust me, because I understand how Wellington operates. I was trying to bypass by ensuring ministers made decisions that would force officials to deliver in a timely manner. That did not happen. So it doesn’t mean you stop representing your community. It just means you do it somewhere else. And somewhere else is like Ōmāhu with their recovery plan, it is like Waiohiki and what they want to do in terms of category three. It is getting alongside them and fast-tracking because the process is too slow.
Cushla, the Maori community in Te Matau a Māui has had a Labour MP representing them almost continuously since the 1940s. Can voters expect change from you? Or should they expect more of the same?
Cushla Tangaere‑Manuel: They can expect more of the same in that Labour’s investments in the area will stay the same and grow. What they can expect differently I suppose is a different personality. My role is to serve all of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. And I also want to assure you that my whānau, hapū and iwi have been sharing me with Aotearoa all my life, and they are prepared for that now. That’s why they trusted me to be your candidate because they knew that I would walk alongside everyone in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti to make sure that you have a voice.
■ Vision NZ candidate Ata Tuhakaraina also took part in the debate. His responses have been removed from this coverage for space reasons but if you wish to see them as well, a full transcript from the evening is available here:
https://tinyurl.com/2s3czc9r
