The Māori electorate of Te Tai Hauāuru could be pivotal in this year’s election, as three candidates from different parties vie for the voters' support.
The seat covers a large area from Kawhia to Porirua, and includes urban centres like Whanganui, Palmerston North and Horowhenua.
The candidates agree that some of the common issues they want to address in this electorate include the cost of living, health and housing.
The incumbent MP, Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhae, is stepping down and becoming Labour list-only, leaving the candidacy open for his cousin Soraya Peke-Mason.
Peke-Mason is a former local government representative who has been in Parliament for eight months as a list MP. She told Q+A that she faced “some very strong wāhine” in the race, one of them being Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, the co-leader of Te Pāti Māori.
"Fundamentally, I'll be knocking on as many doors as I can," she said. "I'm running against some very strong wāhine. One of them happens to be the co-leader of Te Pāti Māori."
Ngarewa-Packer is contesting the seat for the second time, after losing to Labour by 1050 votes in 2020.
She said she is better known this time around, and that her point of difference is being "the only candidate in an indigenous party and a tangata whenua party".
"We don’t have someone else that tells us that we’re the value added, or have to justify our values, our tikanga," Ngarewa-Packer said.
Te Pāti Māori is pinning its hopes on Ngarewa-Packer clinching this seat, along with Rawiri Waititi retaining Waiariki and Labour-defector Meka Whaitiri taking Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.
The third candidate in the mix is Harete Hipango, who is standing for National for the first time in a Māori seat. Hipango held the general seat of Whanganui from 2017 to 2020.
She said she recently spoke up against her colleague Simeon Brown’s opposition to bilingual road signs because it was “true to who I am”.
Hipango said her transition to a Māori seat is "a natural organic fit" for her, and that National has a history of supporting initiatives such as Te Kōhanga Reo and Māori broadcasting.
The candidate said the tides are turning and that “the National Party waka is on the water in Te Tai Hauāuru”.
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