Te Pāti Māori Waiariki candidate Rawiri Waititi. Photo / George Novak
Te Pāti Māori Waiariki candidate Rawiri Waititi. Photo / George Novak
Rawiri Waititi, Te Pāti Māori candidate for the Waiariki electorate, catches up with the Rotorua Daily Post to talk about the issues facing the electorate, from tourism to family values.
“I’m Rawiri Waititi. I’m a father, I am a son, an older brother, a cousin, a nephew and a mokopuna of the Waiariki.”
Waititi says he is standing because it was an “absolute privilege to represent the Waiariki for the last three years”.
He said he was born and bred in Whangaparāoa and attended high school in Auckland.
“I was brought up eating kina on toast, diving, hunting and fishing, that’s who I am.”
Waititi is the incumbent Waiariki MP and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori.
“It’s been an honour to serve our people. It’s been a privilege. I would like that privilege again to continue to fight for the Waiariki to ensure the gains we have achieved already are continued,” he said.
He sees emergency housing, homelessness and the cost of living as the biggest issues facing the Waiariki electorate.
“We need to ensure that our people are housed,” he said.
Waititi said a substantial number of those who were in emergency housing were in Rotorua.
“There should not be people who are homeless in Aotearoa.”
He said the government should ensure people have a warm home and can put food on the table.
The party has campaigned on a policy to remove GST from food.
“Taking GST off food right now, immediately, will make a huge difference for our people on the ground.”
Waititi also proposed removing income tax from those earning $30,000 or less per year.
He believed a wealth tax was needed for those with multiple properties and believed tax system reform was needed because global tax systems had been “tailored to suit rich people”.
A hoarding promoting Rawiri Waititi in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner.
“We’ve got to start making some transformative knowledge and some transformative change to ensure people have more dignity,” he said.
He said Waiariki had “huge potential” and described the electorate as having once been a “tourism mecca”.
“We need to get back to that, there is no other unique place like Rotorua,” he said.
He said Waiariki was special to him because it was his home. “I have strong whakapapa links and I want to ensure those links are represented in Parliament.”
Waititi believed Te Pāti Māori party was a vehicle for positive change.
“[People] put their trust in me in the last election and they showed everyone that wasn’t a wasted vote, that Te Pāti Māori wasn’t a wasted vote.”
He believed the electorate deserved a “strong and unapologetic” Māori voice to represent them in Parliament.
“Everyone is welcome to the gate of our marae. You don’t have to be Māori, you can be anybody. Nau mai, haere mai, we will welcome you, we will feed you, we will house you, we will care for you.
