KEY POINTS:
Labour's candidate-in-waiting for the Te Taitokerau Maori seat believes sitting MP Hone Harawira is an underachiever who talks a lot.
Political novice and former Far North principal Kelvin Davis is the only nominee for the Labour Party. He is set to announce his bid a day before Waitangi Day at Karetu Marae.
Harawira's support in the north is solid and he should deliver a safe seat for the Maori Party.
A TVNZ Digi Poll at the end of last year put him as the fourth most favoured and effective in Parliament out of 16 Maori MPs, and the poll before that showed 61 per cent of voters on the Maori roll would vote for Harawira.
But ask Mr Davis if he's on a hiding to nothing and the 40-year-old doesn't think so.
He said he didn't believe in "slagging" people but Mr Davis wasn't backwards about his opinions on the MP.
"Hone's made a lot of noise, he's been quick to criticise but I'll challenge people to see what he's actually achieved. I've struggled to think of any actual achievements. He's a master of self-promotion.
"You can jump up and down and beat your chest and everything else but it's all just talk."
While the Maori Party has made much of its own MPs voicing the only independent Maori voice in Parliament, practically that belief doesn't hold much weight, Mr Davis said.
"I think the only MPs that are making a difference for Maori are Maori sitting in the Labour Government.
"In every statistic Maori have improved under the Government. Labour MPs don't show off enough - they tend to sit back and cop the criticism instead of being a bit more whakahihi [forthcoming]."
One thing Mr Davis doesn't lack is enthusiasm.
After a 20-year teaching career, much of it in Northland, the Ngapuhi contender from Ngati Manu resigned from Kaitaia Intermediate last year. While the decisions to run and finish his teaching career were made independently of each other - the result is the father of three is planning to pour all of his energy into campaigning.
His message will be simple, he said.
"I want to advance health, wealth and education. It sounds like a cliche but those are the things Maori are interested in. I want policies that will put money in our people's back pockets."
Mr Harawira isn't worried about Mr Davis launching his campaign early in the year.
"It's about having people who are committed to kaupapa Maori representing Maori," he said.
