Waiariki: Meet the four candidates vying for the seat

Waiariki is one of the largest and most geographically diverse Māori electorates, and four hopefuls are vying for the mandate to represent its constituents in Parliament.

Incumbent MP Rawiri Waititi of Te Pāti Māori, Labour Party’s Toni Boynton, the Green Party’s Tania Waikato, and Pāpā Wharewera of the Opportunity Party join host Scotty Morrison on TVNZ’s Marae to debate the issues facing the electorate.

Watch the full Marae debate and analysis on TVNZ+.

Waiariki stretches from Tauranga to Rotorua, through the wider Bay of Plenty and Taupō, and into northern Te Tairāwhiti. The electorate is home to several iwi including Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea and Te Whānau a Apanui.

There are currently 45,968 people enrolled on the Māori roll in Waiariki. In 2023, Waititi won Waiariki with 21,500 votes and ahead of Boynton.

The cost of living is a key issue for the electorate, according to all four hopefuls.

Waititi added housing and unlocking Māori whenua for economic development led by Māori, as well as representation in government and council tables.

“Those are some of the big issues that are facing us at this particular time. Homelessness also, and we've done a lot of work in that particular space.”

Boynton said the cost of living is about the cost of survival.

“So day-to-day it's like air, you know, it's like someone's taking away a piece of air because life is so hard in being able to put kai on the table.”

She said the region has one of the highest unemployment rates and highest amount of rangatahi not in educational training; an increase in homelessness; and a health system under pressure.

“That's why Labour is focused on the cost-of-living crisis and being able to put pūtea back into our whānau's pockets, and also focusing on jobs, health and affordable housing.”

Opportunity Party candidate Wharewera noted cost of living was the “theme” of the 2023 election, and it remains the same three years later, “probably gone from bad to worse”.

He said the party intended to look at the underlying causes of what is adding the pressures of cost of living and enact on a long-term plans and cross-party commitments.

“Grounded in unity, bringing our people's voice to the table, Treaty partnership through innovation, fresh thinking, new minds, young minds, and through care for our environment. Building our economy that is dependent on a healthy environment.”

Waikato, who joined online from home in Tauranga due to a bereavement, said a Green government would take “direct action” to tax the super-rich, cap rent increases, break up the supermarket duopoly and make it illegal for “greedy corporates” to make a million dollars a day in extra profit.

She criticised National for coming late to the party on the supermarket break up, referring to their policy announcement last week.

“They've had three years to do something about the cost of living and they've done absolutely nothing, so enough is enough. The power belongs to the people, and a Green government will take it back.”

Waititi expanded on Te Pāti Māori’s economic development plan in relation to creating more houses. He said they would unlock the potential to capital, particularly for Māori-owned land.

“We don't have access to capital, so making sure that we make those changes at a legislative level, like changing the Public Finance Act, to ensure we’re able to have those things.”

He said iwi were already working on their own solutions, listing developments currently underway in Rotorua, Tauhara, Tairāwhiti and Tauranga by iwi or Māori-led groups.

“This isn't about Te Pati Māori having all the answers. Our job is to unlock the gate to allow them to be able to do that …because not only are they building houses they're building community, and that's the most important thing.”

Boynton agreed, pointing out the housing projects Waititi listed were started under Labour as part of the “largest investments in Māori housing and Māori papakāinga development in history”.

“That was led by our Māori Labour MPs and that's why the success of them has carried on under this current government because the funding continued for those projects to be completed.”

She said their party’s commitment focuses on a holistic approach that includes trades training and upskilling whānau.

Wharewera said through the Opportunity Party’s Tiriti policy, they aim to “back” rangatiratanga in practise.

“We know that those organisations, our people, our iwi, our hapū are better connected to our communities they serve. So, what does that mean? It means giving them the autonomy to do so to enable the developments that they require for their purposes, their needs.”

Tourism, forestry, farming, horticulture, fishing and manufacturing are major industries providing employment and economic development in Te Waiariki.

Waikato said the Green Party will “absolutely” back Māori businesses in the likes of tourism, renewable energy and construction to provide pathways to regional employment. She said their Jobs for Nature and healthy school lunches policies will generate thousands of new jobs.

“I work in these sectors every single day for one of the most successful Māori trust that we have in Te Waiariki and a lot of these programmes that my friends on the panel have already mentioned are ones that our trust has already been running."

She said they will continue to invest in areas Māori are impacted by.

"We don't need the government to tell our people how to be successful at these things. All we need is for the government to back them and then get out of the way.”

Waititi said economic sovereignty must be a priority for all candidates, and entrenching Te Tiriti o Waitangi is key. He said Waiariki has “the goods” in its small to medium sized businesses in agriculture, fisheries, forestry.

But he singled out the Port of Tauranga for not considering the part iwi can play.

“There are a lot of iwi that surround those particular areas and making sure that we can build an economy that can include all of us, and that includes iwi at the table to ensure that they're looking after not only the economy of the country but we're looking after the taiao, and we're able to provide those jobs and provide the security for our whānau.”

Twenty-five per cent procurement is important, too, to ensure Māori are involved, Waititi said.

“Whether that's health, education, building roads, building homes, 25% is the minimum requirement for Māori to be able to get ourselves there.”

Boynton said they would be backing small businesses through their trades training and Apprentice Boosts policies, as well as their small business policy that ensures 15% procurement of government contracts.

“I've been part of projects in which investment has happened within our rural communities where we've had a population of 500 and 120 of them had gained jobs within that.

"We now have whānau who have gone on to maintain those jobs, buy their own homes, look after their own families and be able to contribute to their marae and their hapū.”

Wharewera said the Opportunity Party would like to invest more and give people the opportunity to seek renewable energy sources, diversify lower impact, higher value investments, and lead with the environment in mind.

The Port of Tauranga is New Zealand’s largest port by cargo volume, making it a major freight gateway for the country.

A major expansion that will nearly double cargo handling capacity at the port by volume, has been granted approval under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, subject to conditions.

The candidates were asked whether they supported its expansion – yes or no?

Waikato said she was involved in the fast-track application on behalf of hapū and other organisations in Tauranga who have major concerns about its impact on the marine environment and shellfish.

“Our marae here rely on that pātaka kai for the sustenance of the people, so if you have a port that is going to try and expand, then they should be held to account in terms of making sure that the environment that they're operating is properly catered for and is not being detrimentally impacted by the effects of their activities.”

She said that standard has not yet been reached and locals have been fighting for a “really long time” to ensure they were held to account.

Waititi said Māori needed to be part of the conversation. “It's bigger than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” he said.

Boynton agreed. “It comes down to our mana whenua being able to have a say around that table, and with Bay of Plenty Regional Council also having a key part in the Port of Tauranga and the amalgamation, we need to ensure that that's going to be looked after.”

Meanwhile, Wharewera pointed out there was a newly expanded harbour in Ōpotiki. “Let's spread the love,” he said.

All candidates were asked to imagine a scenario where their party was in a position to form the government – what would their bottom-line for Māori be?

Waikato said the Green Party’s Te Waonui ā Tāne policy would establish a $2.4 billion investment fund that would generate a hundred million dollars per year to support hapū and marae.

“That is a strategic decision from our party to ensure that the next government can't come in and take that funding away and mess with the progress that we've made.

“For us that is the baseline for us to continue to support our hapori Māori, to continue to support our marae that are the backbone of our nation.”

Wharewera was questioned on which side the Opportunity Party would go if called on for support to form a government. He said that was the “beauty” of working the centre.

“We factor in everyone's interest across the political spectrum so we'd like to roll under the format of 'he waka eke noa', so we must bring everyone along on this journey.”

Boynton said the Labour Party was committed to Te Tiriti and its return to legislations the coalition government removed it from.

“If we think that it is bad now for our whānau, it will be a whole lot worse once those pieces of legislation are enacted, and the only way that we can change this government is to vote Labour.”

Waititi listed several of Te Pāti Māori’s policies, such as entrenching Te Tiriti o Waitangi, investing into Matike Mai, reinstating the United National Declaration of Independence, creating a Tiriti Commission, and making Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding.

When asked if they were willing to walk away if one of those bottom-line policies were not met Waititi said they were prepared to have “very, very strong conversations”.

“It'd be up to our mates to ensure that we're able to get it across the line. We've got Māori across Labour, we've got Māori in Opportunity, we've Māori in the Greens, and so our job is if we are all sharing in the same sentiment to start to pull our people out from underneath the bonnet of colonial violence then we need to make sure that we are on cue.”