Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has withdrawn from upcoming election debates and will scale back her campaign after her mother became very unwell.
In a Facebook post addressed to voters in Te Tai Hauāuru, the electorate she holds, her team said Colleen Ngarewa's illness would change how the rest of her 2026 campaign ran.
"Most who know Debbie or her whānau know that her Mum is their rock," the campaign team said.
"Not much would halt her in her mission to get this Govt out and to serve you all, but this."
Her campaign plan will now "look very different", the team said, to give Ngarewa-Packer and her whānau time for "the journey that they have ahead".
The team said it understood what was expected of Ngarewa-Packer during the campaign, and that its members would keep working on the ground in the electorate.
"We are committed to carrying on the work on the ground for Te Tai Hauāuru as we know she would want. We will keep you informed on what that looks like."
The statement sent love to "our beautiful Nanny Colleen Ngarewa, Koko Hemi" and the wider whānau.
"We also reiterate both Debbie's & our teams love for Te Tai Hauāuru and our people," the team said.
Commenting on the post, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi wrote: "Arohanui nui ana ki a koutou ko tō whānau Deb".
Te Tai Hauāuru is a Māori electorate which covers the western North Island, encompassing southern Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatū and the north of the Wellington region.
Ngarewa-Packer, who won the seat by 9162 votes in 2023, faces competition from Labour’s Te Pūoho Kātene and National’s Coral Raukawa in November's election.
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