Māori voters encouraged to consider their vote carefully and act strategically

Māori voters are being encouraged to consider their vote carefully this election as two political commentators weigh in on constitutional reform and voting strategically.

Emeritus Professor Ella Henry and former Far North District Councillor Penetaui Kleskovic joined host Scotty Morrison on Marae to discuss some of the topical issues.

Watch the full discussion panel on Marae at TVNZ+.

Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po delivered her royal address over the weekend, calling on Māori to strive for a future of wellbeing.

"I will not allow the circumstances into which I was born to determine the limits of my life. I will learn. I will work. I will lead. I will build. And I will leave something stronger for those who come after me. Koinei te rā,” she said in te reo Māori.

Henry said Te Arikinui’s speech was inspirational for invoking Māori to “move beyond being the victims of raupatu (confiscation and colonisation) to the warriors of rauora (health and wellbeing)".

She said: “This is what we need as the inspiration because colonisation begins first in the mind and when we unpick that we are transformational. So it was wonderful.”

Kleskovic, the son of NZ First MP Shane Jones, said it was a privileged position to be speaking from considering Northland iwi such as Ngāpuhi, the largest in the country, and Ngāti Kahu had yet to settle with the crown. However, it highlighted Māori leadership did not start and end at Parliament.

“What I took out of it is that we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and realise that perhaps for some of us our skill sets are deficit.”

He said Māori should be able to disagree politically without being divided as a people.

“Kotahitanga and unity doesn't mean uniformity. It means that we're still whānau after the election.”

Te Pāti Māori has proposed a $220 million Matike Mai Fund for constitutional reforms over four years with a target for constitutional transformation by 2040.

Morrison asked Henry and Kleskovic whether the party’s goals were achievable.

Henry quoted Dr Harpreet Singh who said that Matike Mai is inspiring for its focus on values and its call for a democracy that is conciliatory and consensual rather than driven by political confrontation and majority rule.

“Let us be very clear that political confrontation and majority rule has been imposed on us as a people because consultation and collaboration is the foundation… of kotahitanga, the foundation of our political system,” said Henry.

Kleskovic said he wasn’t against Matike Mai, but it wasn’t the only “ticket in town”, citing models by renowned Māori leaders and thinkers Professor Whatarangi Winiata and Sir Graham Latimer.

“Constitutional reform – it's easy to announce it from opposition, those big ideas, because you don't actually have the inconvenience of having to implement it, right? And then, secondly, just announcing a transformational destination doesn't actually get our people there.”

Henry said it was interesting that despite the NZ Constitution Act 1852 and past advocacy by former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand has never had a constitution.

“So we're starting from ground zero and if we base it on values I think that we will make progress,” she said.

Since Te Pāti Māori announced a ‘one-tick’ election strategy last month, Māori voters have been grappling with strategic voting options.

For Kleskovic it is simple: “You've got two votes. Ask yourself these two questions: who's the haatiest for you and your rohe, and secondly, which party do you want to influence the next government with full effect?”

Henry said Māori had been voting strategically for over three decades, but the ultimate goal this election is to get people registered and voting.

“If we can galvanise ourselves to vote, and… vote for the haati person in your electorate that you know is going to deliver for you, but the party that you want to see in Parliament, then that is what we should be doing.”

Kleskovic said voters needed to prioritise results over loyalty and consider a balance between “rourou (a flax food basket, often used as a metaphor or concept for reciprocity and collective resource sharing) economics” and “rangatiratanga politics”.

“But remember, rangatiratanga rhetoric - it doesn't pay the mortgage. So look at the people within the game right now, who are in power, who actually deliver the rourou economics. They're not talking about the rangatiratanga politics.”

Henry said that while "rourou economics" is important, if it's at the cost of the planet, of Papatuānuku, “then we have to be very, very careful”.

“What good is a rourou full of little bits of gold and other materials if the planet and Papatuānuku is burning? So we also need to be looking at who is delivering the most sustainable protections for Papatuānuku.”