Marama Davidson: candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, May 17th, 2014 - 40 comments
Categories: activism, child abuse, child welfare, community democracy, election 2014, families, greens, housing, internet, Maori Issues, Maori seats, poverty, Spying, sustainability - Tags:

Marama Davidson has been selected by the Green Party to stand as the Green candidate in Tāmaki Makaurau.  Davidson is a really promising up-coming politician, and would be an asset to Parliament.  The electorate seat is currently held by Pita Sharples, who won’t be standing in the coming election.  Shane Jones was runner up in the last election.

Marama Davidson TV

Davidson is a great communicator, who expresses a strong sense of caring and commitment for people, communities and the environment we live in. Here is her Green Party Profile.  She was worked for various causes, including those focused on domestic violence and child abuse, the well being and education of young people, Māori mentoring and strong communities, Māori women’s groups, and social media initiatives. She is very comfortable with social media, is active on twitter, and posts to Te Wharepora blog.

This is how she explains her political views and approach:

Broad political issues: I am an active advocate for the wellbeing of whānau, hapu and iwi from a kaupapa Māori perspective. My lens is from a wāhine Māori viewpoint that seeks to reclaim collective caring of our planet and our people. The Green Party charter, visions and leadership are aligned with my passions and commitment to strengthening communities. Green Party advocacy on welfare reform, the environment, asset sales, poverty and housing are some of the examples of where I see reciprocal strengthening of both a kaupapa Māori approach and Green Party goals.

Marama Davidson Dad-and-his-children-Mana-Wahine-night1

Tāmaki Makaurau electorate is considered to be wide open at the moment.  Here is how the Green Party explain Davidson’s campaign-to-come in the electorate, in last night’s press release:

Marama Davidson, Ngāti Porou, Te Rarawa,Ngāpuhi, has been selected as the Green Party candidate for the hotly contested and vacant seat of Tāmaki Makaurau , party Co-leader Metiria Turei announced tonight.

[…]

“Marama is an exceptional candidate who will undoubtedly grow the Green Party vote in Tāmaki Makaurau ,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“Marama has a strong personal following and represents a bold new wave of Māori leaders.

“With so many Māori leaders leaving parliament at the end of this term it is great to have someone of Marama’s calibre in with a chance of replacing them.

[…]

“The Green Party is taking Tāmaki Makaurau seriously. At this point the electorate is wide open and we are committed to growing our party support in the Māori electorates,” said Mrs Turei.

“I am standing for Tāmaki Makaurau to continue my passion for social justice and protecting our environment,” said Green Party candidate Marama Davidson.

“I am an active advocate for the wellbeing of whānau, hapu and iwi from a kaupapa Māori perspective. My lens is from a wāhine Māori viewpoint that seeks to reclaim collective caring of our planet and our people.

“It’s time for new Green and Māori leadership. For Maori, it’s worth remembering that a party vote for the Green’s is the best way to achieve real change and a strong voice in a new government.

“There is an absence of Māori women across mainstream political spheres, yet our input is essential to a better future. The Green Party enjoys a reputation of presenting strong Māori women and I am keen to uphold that.

“There is much for Aotearoa to gain in the alignment between Tangata Whenua visions and Green Party aspirations.

“Green Party advocacy on welfare reform, the environment, asset sales, poverty and housing are some of the examples of where I see reciprocal strengthening of both a kaupapa Māori approach and Green Party goals.

“I am looking forward to the election campaign and increasing the Green Party vote,” said Ms Davidson.

Davidson Wahine

Marama is currently #15 on the initial 2014 party list.  I hope she wins a high enough place on the final list, to ensure she becomes an MP.

metiria and marama

Davidson march-against-rape-culture-myers-park-sat-16-nov-2013

40 comments on “Marama Davidson: candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau ”

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  1. jh 1
    17 May 2014 at 10:35 am

    Davidson’s view is that indigenous people out rank later arrivals. Suppose you were to attempt land based taxation (to stick a pin into rentier capitalists) Davidson and Co would undermine it.

    P.C is institutionalised truth (mind f**ing).

    This whole way of thinking isn’t going (and won’t go) anywhere, refer Fiji.
    [that’s not my best answer by the way]

    [lprent: And your evidence for this view is? Link?

    Oh I see that poor bigoted arsehole did link. It turns out that his “evidence” for his view about Davidson is based on the (probably accidental) hanging of a picture of David Hay upside down in a post on The Daily Blog. That ranks with dad4justice’s comments when he was on the sauce for outright stupidity.

    I’ve put him into back into comment probation. I think that his mind has indeed been fucked. Perhaps he will be better after a detox. ]

    • Colonial Viper 1.1
      17 May 2014 at 10:44 am

      When did you announce yourself as Davidson’s policy spokesman?

      When did you decide to make up irrelevant stories about “P.C.”? and “this whole way of thinking”, whatever that is?

      • jh 1.1.1
        17 May 2014 at 11:14 am

        I have a bag of views here; I believe they belong to her. I just haven’t rounded them up and directly linked them to her.
        White privelege
        minorities can’t be racist
        Aotearoa is Maori (but you can live here if you do as I say).
        Indigenous culture is more appropriate to the geographical area the indigenous people belong to than the culture of latter groups.

        [lprent: If you want to make up stories without bothering to find any evidence to support your views, then I suggest you write comments at Whaleoil (or join TV3 news). But it is unlikely I’d tolerate a simple lying bigot here. Adding you to probation. ]

        • karol 1.1.1.1
          17 May 2014 at 11:17 am

          I believe they belong to her. I just haven’t rounded them up and directly linked them to her.

          So you have no evidence. Just some beliefs and pre-judgments that you have made before you have found or looked at any evidence.

          Try for instance, looking at the Green Party policies.

    • karol 1.2
      17 May 2014 at 11:15 am

      You seem to be misrepresenting Davidson and the Green Party policies and values.

      Suppose you were to attempt land based taxation (to stick a pin into rentier capitalists) Davidson and Co would undermine it.

      Citation needed.

      Do you think that someone who had the views you claim Davidson has, would be party of the Green Party?

      Green Party policies.

    • Awww 1.3
      17 May 2014 at 12:12 pm

      Ooooh, someone’s feeling threatened!

  2. jh 2
    17 May 2014 at 11:20 am

    Hung David Hay upside down (it wasn’t her, but she didn’t notice)
    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/12/01/fair-democracy-let-david-hay-speak-and-put-his-hand-up-fair-democracy-common-sense-and-strong-leadership-spoke-back/

    [lprent: Thats your evidence? Really? That David Hays picture was put in upside down? And she didn’t do it? Really!

    You really are a stupid dickhead. ]

    • karol 2.1
      17 May 2014 at 11:30 am

      Do you have some criticism of her argument about Hay? She explained her view pretty clearly and convincingly. All you are saying is you didn’t like it. You are wasting discussion space.

      [lprent: Agreed. ]

    • Crunchtime 2.2
      28 May 2014 at 2:47 pm

      Hahahahaha lprent’s admin comments. Hilarious, and I agree with them.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    17 May 2014 at 11:21 am

    Pity sometimes when you get good candidates standing in unlikely to win electorates. Tāmaki Makaurau is more open though with Sharples sloping off.

    Rangi McLean for the decaying Māori Party is clearly in the wrong party, but if he does not perceive that maybe he is not as good as his community record suggests, he was a strong unionist in the 80s at Union Carbide and involved in the South Auckland Peoples Centre and community work since.

    Labour still to decide after Taurimu debacle, Mana’s candidate was weak last time, hopefully a better horse this time.

    Marama is a refreshing type of aspiring politician, and should be in parliament whether by list or outside bet electorate vote in Tāmaki Makaurau.

    Jh; file your diversion where it belongs.

    • karol 3.1
      17 May 2014 at 11:35 am

      Well, I quoted the Green Party press release, because the subtext is she is primarily campaigning for the party vote in Tāmaki Makaurau.

      Of course, there is still a question as to who the Mana and Labour candidates will be.

      And it will be interesting to see the strength of Rangi McLean’s support in the electorate.

      I particularly like that both Davidson and McLean have a strong background of flaxroots activism and work in, and for their local communities.

      • Disraeli Gladstone 3.1.1
        17 May 2014 at 11:40 am

        It’s a real shame that the Greens didn’t have more of a electorate-vote base to work off of because Davidson deserves to be an MP and with Labour spiraling around selection, she probably could have a stood chance of winning with a better base. I hope they give her a good placing on the final list.

        I think a lot of people have written off the Maori Party in Tāmaki Makaurau but from my understanding, Rangi McLean is a strong candidate. If Labour or Mana doesn’t pick well, he might actually just win.

        • Tamati 3.1.1.1
          17 May 2014 at 3:08 pm

          I’m surprised the Greens picked such a high profile candidate. Isn’t there a risk that she could split the left vote and give the seat to the Maori party?

          She’s probably the most visible non-Parliamentary Green, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she does reasonably well.

          Will be interesting to see where she lands on the list. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if she outranks a couple of incumbent MPs.

        • Crunchtime 3.1.1.2
          28 May 2014 at 3:14 pm

          Actually if Labour and Mana don’t pick well, Marama has a pretty good chance of winning. I suspect a strong Mana and/or Labour candidate would split the vote.

  4. yorro 4
    17 May 2014 at 3:53 pm

    Nothing but the real deal. A great choice. Every time I have seen her in the media I have been impressed by her confidence, commitment and courage.

  5. Tracey 5
    17 May 2014 at 4:24 pm

    another good green choice

    if greens won a single electorate see and got 10% of thle vote, how many seats would it equate to.

    • outofbed 5.1
      17 May 2014 at 4:52 pm

      Probably about 12
      Davidson will probably come in at 14 on the list which is certainly dooable Mp wise
      I saw her at a Green party conference she is certainly confident !
      I think that she has a very high ranking considering her lack of Green party experience.
      We shall see

    • Colonial Viper 5.2
      17 May 2014 at 10:37 pm

      if greens won a single electorate see and got 10% of thle vote, how many seats would it equate to.

      Fewer than they have now. Winning an electorate seat is not a priority for the Greens, they are better off pouring the resources into growing their party vote.

      • Tracey 5.2.1
        18 May 2014 at 11:26 am

        thats what I was trying to ascertain cv. winning a seat is more important for those who get 2.5% to 5%?

        • Colonial Viper 5.2.1.1
          18 May 2014 at 11:36 am

          Because of the MMP 5% threshold (which should be lowered as per Electoral Commission recommendations) winning an electoral seat is the only way for those minor parties to get into Parliament. Mana and ACT are prime examples of this. The Greens have moved well beyond the 5% threshold so that constraint does not apply to them.

          It’s hard for me to see what extra advantage the Greens would get from pouring a whole lot of time and energy into winning an electorate seat at this stage, and for the Left, it is a seat that would most likely have been a Labour one anyways so it is a zero sum game.

        • weka 5.2.1.2
          18 May 2014 at 11:39 am

          Roughly, if you multiply the percentage by 120 you will get the number of seats for a party. You can then compare that to how many electorate MPs they have and see if getting another electorate seat makes a difference. With the GP it doesn’t. However the GP strategy is that getting high profiles in electorates during an election increases their party vote, so standing a candidate is considered part of the party vote. I think their long term view is to get candidates too.

          The risk here is that the vote gets split and gives and advantage to the right. I think this is inevitable in the Māori seats, as Māori seem more likely to vote for the person they support rather than strategically in MMP terms.

          “winning a seat is more important for those who get 2.5% to 5%?”

          That depends. Obviously any party under the 5% needs an electorate MP to get into parliament. But after that first MP it gets tricky. Party votes can get wasted if the party picks up a second MP via an electorate. This is the situation that Mana is in – we don’t know how many electorate MPs they will get, so it’s very hard to know whether the party vote is useful or not. At this stage my personal view is that the party vote is better off going to Labour or the GP, because that will increase their chance of an extra MP and thus the left winning the election.

          A further complication is when we have an overhang (when a party gets more MPs via the electorate than they do via their list). Best thing to do is use the election calculator and play around with the figures and see how they change depending on whether the small parties pick up an extra electorate MP or not.

          • Tracey 5.2.1.2.1
            18 May 2014 at 11:47 am

            thanks cv and weka.

            I agree that campaigning in an electorate seat is crucial to the party vote.

            interesting to me is how invisible many list mps of nats and labour are compared to greens.

  6. Jenny 6
    17 May 2014 at 4:44 pm

    Marama Davis MP for Tamaki Makaurau

    Labour is in disarray.

    Mana expecting a Labour and Maori Party concerted attack in Te Tai Tokerau, is not fielding a candidate, to concentrate their forces on getting Hone Harawira back in.

    The Maori Party incumbent is unpopular and his replacement relatively unknown.

    Tamaki Makaurau is the sleeping giant of the Maori electorates, neglected by what should in normal circumstances be the most likely contenders, whatever party wakes this giant will take this seat.

    Depending on what resources the Green Party throw into this campaign, in my estimation Marama Davis will be the candidate to beat.

    For Marama Davis to win this seat would be a good thing. With undoubted talent, a non-sectarian approach, an ability to work constructively with all three likely conmponents making up the coalition to oust National, Labour, NZ First and Mana, given her own independent electoral base Marama Davis will strengthen the pan-Maori caucus in parliament..

    A victory for Marama Davis in Tamaki Makaurau will completely upset the current balance of forces in parliament.

    • Jenny 6.1
      18 May 2014 at 3:37 am

      Not to mention, that Marama Davis record of environmental activism through ‘Idle No More’ will put some needed steel into the Green Party caucus.

      • karol 6.1.1
        18 May 2014 at 6:49 am

        Good points, Jenny.

        It’s DAVIDSON

        • Jenny 6.1.1.1
          18 May 2014 at 7:55 am

          So my partner just informed me and something I knew, talk about brain fade. Thanks karol.

          I was so excited by this good news that I rushed into print.

    • Ant 6.2
      18 May 2014 at 11:36 am

      Pretty sure Mana is keen on fighting where they don’t hamper the chances of changing the government.

      MP still have a lot of support and Rangi has a very strong personal presence in the area.

      I think the fact that Marama recently stood in Ikaroa-Rawhiti will count against her, voters in these electorates expect more long term personal representation not the usual general electorate parachute regiment.

      • Jenny 6.2.1
        18 May 2014 at 12:42 pm

        If you asked me Ant, I would say that Marama Davidson’s having stood in Ikaroa-Rawhiti and not standing there this time, will not count against her as you maintain. Most commentators have noted that Marama Davidson standing in Ikaroa-Rawhiti prevented a clear popular majority decision and could even be seen as unnecessarily divisive. Your claim that voters in these electorates expect a long term personal relationship may be true. But for Marama not to stand in Ikaroa-Rawhiti again, is the right decision, and in my view a principled one. Good for her. I wish her all the best in Tamaki and in parliament.

  7. Naturesong 7
    17 May 2014 at 10:31 pm

    I’ve watched Marama Davidson’s performance over the last couple of years, and she is a great pick.

    Personable, articulate, dedicated and intelligent – she’ll be an excellent MP.

    Her performance contesting the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election last year showed her work ethic. Hopefully that will have raised her profile enough for Green members to reward her with a high list ranking.

    That said, I’d like to see her take Tāmaki Makaurau outright. She has a real connection with people and would fight hard in Parliament on behalf of her constituents.

  8. Murray Olsen 8
    17 May 2014 at 10:49 pm

    I hope she gets the seat. She would be one of the most impressive candidates standing this election and is the real deal. When she doesn’t know something, she doesn’t fall back on bullshit, which gives me confidence. Nothing is more dangerous than a fool who thinks they know everything, and we have enough of them in parliament already.

    • Z 8.1
      18 May 2014 at 7:06 am

      You got that right. She’s awesome! I’m down here in Te Tai Tonga so can’t vote for her. Still they have my party vote : )

  9. the pigman 9
    18 May 2014 at 2:05 am

    A good candidate who will likely be elected from the list but a completely fucking inexplicable strategic blunder by the Green Party.

    Talk about throwing the Maori Party a lifeline…

    • Skinny 9.1
      18 May 2014 at 8:56 am

      Well since Labour fucked up by not ruling out Shane T after his ridiculous abuse of the state broadcasters resources, perhaps they should stand the likely young candidate as party list only. Him and Wilcox may not have the pulling power in my opinion. Basically gift the Greens the seat with MD who is probably unquestionably the best Maori candidate from any party. I did question the new closing date on Tuesday as I thought a few boxes were ticked by myself. Urban Maori and the LP caucus need someone with attack mongrel running through their veins lol.

      • mac1 9.1.1
        18 May 2014 at 10:17 am

        Skinny, National MP Tau Henare says Shane Taurima’s rejection from Labour is “quite frankly a good job”.

        “He’s to blame, it’s nothing to do with Labour,” Mr Henare told media in Wellington today.(source TVNZ news)

        If I had got the message that Shane Taurima had got from David Cunliffe, I would certainly say I’d been ruled out. That young man has to learn some things, and Cunliffe spoke of them- “not this time, not this context”.

        • Skinny 9.1.1.1
          18 May 2014 at 10:34 am

          No Labour were too slow to react, as soon as Shane resigned from TVNZ, he should have been told by Labour HQ ( bloody Coatsworth) that he make a statement saying he will not stand as a nominee as the candidate. Shane showed further ill discipline by not calling a special meeting of his branch and told the 200 odd members that he had fucked up bigtime and he had done the only option possible, which was to withdraw his nomination… end of story.

        • Tracey 9.1.1.2
          18 May 2014 at 11:29 am

          tau henare and personal responsibility…

          • mac1 9.1.1.2.1
            18 May 2014 at 5:26 pm

            Sometimes we are hard on others for the same traits which we see and fear in ourselves……

    • Jack McDonald 9.2
      19 May 2014 at 5:16 pm

      The pigman, why do you say that? If you look at the results in the Māori electorates from 2011 you will see that most of the increase in votes for the Greens came from the Māori Party, not Labour.

      If anything, it’s more likely throwing the Labour Party a lifeline by eroding the Māori Party’s support in Tāmaki Makaurau.

      • the pigman 9.2.1
        20 May 2014 at 12:37 am

        Labour still don’t have a candidate and both Taurima and Wilcox are ruled out… in fact, Labour’s mana in the electorate is already somewhat eroded by the Taurima business.

        Split the Labour/Greens vote two ways through a strong GP candidate and a compromised/weak LP candidate and the Maori Party waltz home.