Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, Te Pāti Māori candidate for Hauraki-Waikato. Photo / Erica Sinclair
Police are investigating after the home of Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke was invaded, vandalised, and a threatening letter left behind.
They said the burglary of a Huntly home was reported to police on Monday.
On Friday, Te Pāti Māori issued a statement saying it was the third incident at Maipi-Clarke’s home this week.
The candidate for Hauraki-Waikato said the attack was premeditated, targeted, and politically motivated.
The danger of the campaign trail had increased because of race-baiting and fearmongering from right-wing parties, Maipi-Clarke said.
Despite the attack, she was not scared, she told The Hui’s Hauraki-Waikato debate.
However, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has dismissed claims his party is race-baiting, and increasing danger for candidates on the campaign trail.
Peters told Newshub Nation that notion was wrong, adding that he was not responsible for the actions of other people.
He said he would never work with Te Pāti Māori.
Te Pāti Māori said it was working with police to find someone who broke into their youngest candidate’s home.
Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the party was outraged and it was seeing more abusive behaviour this election than ever before.
“You go at one of our mokopuna, you go at all of us. And it doesn’t matter how different we think, when we see our mokopuna being abused, we will unite and it will have the absolute contrary effect of what I think perpetrators are trying to do when they’re individually picking off on our youngest, on one of our babies ... it’s disgusting.”
The party was looking into improving security for candidates to prevent future attacks, she said.
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.