Nanaia Mahuta’s email.

Tēnā Koe  Lynn

Our Future Together

As a member of the Labour Party you will soon be asked to make an important decision about which person you believe has the leadership qualities that will best take our Party and country forward.

I am seeking your support to lead the type of change that we as Labour members and New Zealanders can be proud of. As your Leader I will:

• Institute change where it is required;
• Build a cohesive, unified Labour Party grounded in and led by our vision for all New Zealanders to achieve their potential;
• Review our policy platform so that we are all of one mind, one voice on the key issues that matter;
• Articulate who we are and what we stand for in the MMP environment;
• Lead with integrity, commitment, authenticity and fairness; and
• Require a disciplined caucus with its sights firmly set on becoming Government.

My goal is for Labour to be Government. To achieve this we must be an aligned team that is clear about its purpose to be a strong Opposition. We have to demonstrate that we are a credible stable alternative Government. We must earn the confidence of voters. We have work to do and it starts with us.

The Way Forward

Since 2005 our Party vote has steadily declined. We are not inspiring the confidence of voters and the serious perception is that we must do more to connect with New Zealanders and the issues that are important to them. To do this we must:

–       Redefine the Party in order to return to core values that our public relates to and is proud to champion; and

–       Unify our Party; our success depends upon our ability to work as a united team.

I would expect that every caucus member would see themselves as accountable to the Party to achieve our objective to become Government. That means a disciplined approach to connecting with people in their communities, getting alongside and leading campaigns for change, building organizational capacity to strengthen our ability to campaign, and be absolutely congruent to the values of the Labour Party. As your Leader I would require greater transparency to the Party for that activity and expect to deliver the same in return. We will be returning to a back to basics approach building from the grass roots up.

I am ready to lead a Labour Party that cares about the state of our environment, wants economic opportunity to benefit more people, supports opportunity and innovation, and helps hardworking people to get ahead.

About the Values I represent

I have long believed that Labour is a Party of aspiration and opportunity. We all have a Labour story that connects us to our working class roots and the opportunities that have emerged from applying our values of a fair and decent society where all people can climb the ladder of opportunity, and where we support growth for more people in an equal society.

I entered Parliament as a List MP in 1996 and have spent most of my adult life in politics. I have held ministerial portfolios and served on a raft of Select committees. As an MP I have successfully won my electorate five times, including in the aftermath of the foreshore and seabed issue which caused huge electoral damage to Labour. This period required transparent and accountable leadership to my electorate and the Party in a way that preserved the integrity of the changes I affected using the process available to me.

I maintain relationships with key decision-makers and influencers of change in my electorate which has weathered the ups and the downs of the political cycle. My leadership style is to build a team based on a common objective and maintaining focus on the important issues. My experiences have taught me that being able to listen, connect, problem solve, be decisive and draw on strengths of people are some of the essential elements to take people forward but, more importantly, authenticity of relationships are crucial to building trust and confidence.

Vote for Change

The election outcome was not the one we had hoped for, many people campaigned for the vision of a better life where more people could thrive, achieve, work and have security. I, like you, believe that when our country thrives we can all do well and no-one is left behind. We are all stronger when we work together.

Ngaa mihi.

NOTE: This paid advertisement was prepared by Nanaia Mahuta and is sent out to New Zealand Labour Party members in accordance with Rule 3.6.2 of the New Zealand Labour Party Leadership Election Rules (current). It is a service offered to all candidates and should not be seen as an endorsement from the Returning Officer or the New Zealand Labour Party.