Marama Davidson has been selected as the Green Party candidate in the Ikaroa-Rahiti by-election. She expressed herself extremely well at a meeting about Sue Moroney’s paid parental leave private member’s bill that I attended last year. She also had a very compelling and inclusive green left perspective. She has a very good track record as a communicator. It will be interesting to see how she performs in the by-election.
As 3 News reported, Labour’s choice, Meka Whaitiri, is a strong candidate, and the front-runner at the moment in the by-election. However, Tova O’Brien also pointed out that being a front runner can bring added pressures, and often by-elections can play out in unpredictable ways. 3 news gave space to all 4 of the candidates in the by-election. They look like an intriguing line up.
TV One also did a report on the candidates tonight, giving most attention to the favourite, Meka Whaitiri. One News says of Whaitiri,
The mother-of-two has been chief executive of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, one of the counrty’s [sic] largest iwi, for the past four years and is affiliated to Ngati Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata.
“All I want to do is represent the issues that matter to our people here in Ikaroa-Rawhiti,” she said.
Davidson has worked for the Human Rights Commission as an educator, is a blogger and commentator in Maori media and currently works for the Owen Glenn inquiry into family violence and child abuse.
“I will be a strong particular wahine voice, a women’s perspective,” Davidson said. “And that is often missed; our representation in government lacks when it comes to Maori women.”
One News also says this of the other 2 candidates:
Labour wants to keep the Ikaroa-Rawhiti seat, which covers much of the North Island, but Maori Party candiate Na Raihania says it’s not guaranteed they will win it again. …
Mana’s Te Hamua Nikora was in Hastings today, not only seeking support but also urging voters to switch to the Maori roll.
“At the moment there are 25,000 Maori in the electorate that are on the general roll and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want to have a voice in the electorate you need to be on that [the Maori roll].”
At the moment, I am most interested to see how Davidson performs. She blogs at Maui Street, and The Daily Blog. However, the four candidates all have potential, and I’ll be interested to see how they perform during the by-election campaign.
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