Te Pāti Māori's Hauraki-Waikato candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke is being "got at for political reasons", amid a spate of alleged incidents at her home in recent weeks, party president John Tamihere said.
It comes after the National Party yesterday criticised Te Pāti Māori’s claims of an alleged trespass at the home of Maipi-Clarke, labelling it a “political stunt”.
National admitted that while the man who was trespassed was a National Party member, he simply went to Maipi-Clarke's home to offer congratulations for recent high polling numbers.
"The individual was invited inside but she was not available so they returned home. Another person from the home then went to the party member’s home and asked for their name and phone number so he could update them on Maipi-Clarke’s campaign," the statement read.
"This afternoon, this individual has been issued a trespass notice and is bemused and disappointed by the whole situation."
Tamihere told Breakfast this morning the 74-year-old Pākehā man had pushed past Maipi-Clarke's partner on Wednesday morning to gain entry into her home in a "politically-motivated attack".
"If you’re going to congratulate somebody for a debate, you do that after the debate. You don’t wait ‘til five days after the first burglary to turn up at her house," he said.
"No one should have that entitled, inappropriate conduct."
Te Pāti Māori candidate says the alleged incidents were having an impact on her mental health. (Source: 1News)
He was also critical of the man's decision not to bring his wife with him, saying his actions "just doesn’t stack up for us".
He said Maipi-Clarke "has been got at for political reasons", and questioned whether there was a connection between the alleged trespassing and the earlier burglary.
"We’re working our way through that but it’s really up to the Human Rights Commission to determine racial profiling and the like," he said.
"No candidate advancing in a free democracy, their political rights and entitlements should ever be subjected to this.
"This is one of the first times in our political history that we’ve seen this."
It comes after Maipi-Clarke spoke out about a number of incidents at her home in the past two weeks – claiming her home was invaded and vandalised, with a threatening letter left behind.
Police investigating the claims yesterday said the incidents were not believed to be coordinated or "racially motivated".
"While we acknowledge that the incidents in which people have come on to the property will have been unsettling, we do not believe these constitute a home-invasion style entry into the house."
Tamihere didn't agree.
"It’s a bit early in any investigation to make those statements, isn’t it? They haven’t uncovered whether the first three incidents are related to this bloke because they say they’re still investigating it but here’s the thing: they’ve issued a trespass notice on him – clearly he’s in breach of a trespass so clearly he’s breached the law."
Q+A visits Huntly to meet Maipi-Clarke, number 4 on Te Pāti Māori’s list, who has a chance to become New Zealand’s youngest MP in nearly two centuries. (Source: 1News)
Tamihere was also critical of the intense scrutiny around the alleged incidents, asking, “Why is she on trial? Why am I on trial? Why don’t the police go and find the perpetrators?”
Last Friday, Te Pāti Māori put out a press release about some of the incidents. Maipi-Clarke also spoke about it at a debate hosted by The Hui.
Tamihere said Maipi-Clarke had been left "deeply traumatised" following the ordeal.
“It’s been very difficult for her on the campaign trail and that’s what it’s meant to do. This is what it’s meant to do. It was to play with her head and put her down.
“It’s unacceptable and we should not allow that conduct to continue against any candidate, let alone a young Māori girl who has extraordinary promise, extraordinary energy and would do well in that seat.”
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