Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke. Photo / RNZ
Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke. Photo / RNZ
Te Pāti Māori newcomer Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke has opened up on the “hardest week of my life” after she says her home was broken into and a threatening letter left behind.
A Whakaata Māori poll, meanwhile, shows the Foreign Affairs Minister Nania Mahuta is fighting to remain in Parliament with Maipi-Clarke only four percentage points behind her in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate.
To stay in Parliament, Mahuta needs to win the traditional Labour seat because she didn’t stand on the party’s list.
The poll, conducted by Curia Market Research, has Mahuta leading on 36 per cent and Maipi-Clarke on 32 per cent. Undecided were 14 per cent.
If elected, 20-year-old Maipi-Clarke, who is number four on her party’s list, will become New Zealand’s youngest MP in 170 years. Mahuta is the country’s longest-serving female MP, has held multiple portfolios and isn’t standing on Labour’s list.
During a debate for the electorate tonight, Maipi-Clarke opened her statement by saying “this has been the hardest week of my life”.
“It’s been one the most ugly and disgusting times in my whole life, it’s nothing that I really want to talk about,” she said.
”But we have to make sure we are bringing to light the injustices in our country, just not to Māori, but what does it say for the young rangatahi, whether young Act or Greens, who want to get into politics, it’s very hard.”
Police are investigating after Maipi-Clarke’s Huntly home was vandalised and a threatening letter left behind.
Maipi-Clarke said the attack was a “wake-up call to our how dangerous politics can be”.
She said the most amount of support she received after the attack was primarily from women and said men should step up and support Maori women.
Mahuta mirrored these comments earlier, calling out “misogynistic Māori men” without naming anyone in particular.
Nanaia Mahuta needs to win the traditional Labour seat because she isn't standing on the Labour party’s list. Photo / Getty Images
The poll also revealed older voters aged 60+ supported Mahuta as the preferred candidate at 43 per cent compared to Maipi-Clarke on 12 per cent. Older voters were far more likely to vote.
But the lead flipped among those aged under 40, who backed Maipi-Clarke at 43 per cent compared to Mahuta’s 30 per cent.
Whakaata Māori released the poll results during a live debate between Mahuta and Maipi-Clarke from its new studio, Hawaikirangi, in East Tāmaki.
The poll also raised the stakes on the preferred party.
Labour and Te Pāti Māori are neck and neck, both polling at 26 per cent followed by National on 14 per cent, Green Party 8 per cent, New Zealand First 6 per cent and ACT 5 per cent. Undecided were 7 per cent and 2per cent refused to say.
Removing undecided and refused, Labour has 29 per cent of the party vote (36 per cent lower than the 2020 election). Te Pāti Māori has 28 per cent (16 per cent higher), National 15 per cent (11 per cent higher), Greens 9 per cent (3 per cent higher), NZ First 6 per cent (2 per cent higher) and ACT 5 per cent (4 per cent higher).
Cost of Living has been the most important issue across the polling of four Māori electorates to date. In Hauraki-Waikato, cost of living 30 per cent was followed by economy 10 per cent, jobs 9 per cent, housing 6 per cent and health 5 per cent.
