The Māori seats were electrifying to watch as the results rolled in on Saturday. Here’s what happened. Labour no longer has a monopoly on the seven Māori seats – for now. First-timer Rāwiri Waititi snatched Waiariki from one-term MP Tamati Coffey in a nail-biting neck and neck race, coming out ahead by only 415 votes … Read more
Some nail-biting battles are brewing in the Māori seats – here’s a primer so you know what to keep an eye out for as the results start rolling in. Candidates from four different parties have stood in the seat of Te Tai Tokerau since MMP was introduced. While Labour’s Kelvin Davis has polled streaks ahead … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Advance voting surges ahead of final week, poll shows John Tamihere in with a chance at Tāmaki Makaurau, and insights into modern drug smuggling revealed. With a week to go before election day, hundreds of thousands of people have already got their vote done and … Read more
The Māori electorates hold the key to stronger Māori representation in parliament. Policy adviser and GP Bryn Jones makes the case for voting strategically to get more Māori MPs in the house. The Māori seats were established to improve Māori representation in central government. That’s the main reason why I choose to be on the … Read more
From Te Rerenga Wairua at the top of the country, right down to Rakiura, we’re taking a look at our seven Māori electorates and the candidates contesting the seats. In this edition: the ‘super city’ electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau. Tāmaki Makaurau is a completely urban electorate, centred on greater Auckland south of the Harbour Bridge. … Read more
She’s a lone wolf, a team player, a rebel, a leader and the nicest lady around. But what combination of those do you need to survive in government? On a cold July morning, I found myself driving around Tōtara Park in Manurewa in the dark. I had been invited to a dawn karakia to launch … Read more
He Kākano Ahau is a podcast by writer and activist Kahu Kutia (Ngāi Tūhoe) that explores stories of Māori in the city, and weaves together strands of connection. In this episode: what happens when Māori are not ‘urban Māori’ as we know them, but mana whenua. For episode four of He Kākano Ahau I’ve come … Read more
A protest against the felling of non-native trees on one of Auckland’s maunga has erupted this week. Ben Thomas says they’re behaving like brats and ignoring the rights of iwi. Letting go can be hard, even if it’s for the best. This is not to say that a few dozen angry residents of Mt Albert, … Read more
In her ceremonial inaugural lecture ‘Whakawhanaketanga toitū: A tale of tū cities’, University of Otago Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett (Ngāti Whātua) examined the concepts of “identity in place” and mapped how these ideas have shaped her career. The concept of ‘whakawhanaketanga toitū’ is the notion of developing and improving our activities and lives in a way that is sustainable. ‘Sustainable development’ … Read more
This week the Supreme Court dipped its toes into the troubled waters of the Crown’s settlement negotiations with Hauraki iwi in a decision on whether or not Ngāti Whātua can challenge elements of that settlement in court. Lawyer and mediator Baden Vertongen (Ngāti Raukawa) peels back the complex layers of that decision. In 2006, Ngāti Whātua sought to … Read more