PETER WILLIAMS: Have Te Pati Maori given up on Tamaki Makarau?

Their candidate is a disaster

If the voters of Tamaki Makarau send Oriini Kaipara to Parliament this Saturday they need a collective mental health assessment where the first question should be “are you barking mad?”

In the history of New Zealand politics has there ever been such a trainwreck of a serious political candidate as Ms Kaipara?

Consider these scenarios – they have all happened.

On the Tuesday before the final polling day she refuses to answer questions from a TV political reporter – and a Maori female one at that.

She has suggested her main opponent for the seat, Peeni Henare, should be the first Maori Prime Minister, something that is surely unlikely if Mr Henare loses a seat twice in succession after winning it in three consecutive elections from 2014.

Her big set piece interview on TV’s Q and A was a complete disaster. She claimed that Te Pati Maori have repealed various pieces of legislation despite never having been in government and being in opposition since 2023. Only governments repeal legislation.

When asked about an aspect of Te Pati Maori policy she stumbled and mumbled and then, unbelievably, said she needed to refer to her phone to get the right answer – then couldn’t find her phone!

For someone who has worked in television her performance on Q and A was hopeless.

As politics these days is as much a celebrity as a policy contest, Oriini Kaipara should have had a massive head start in this by-election. She had the TV profile which is usually accompanied by the gift of the gab and the ability to sell oneself, against a middle-aged and slightly paunchy List MP who somehow lost a safe seat in the 2023 election.

(Just how that happened is another story which won’t be discussed further here but the silence around the circumstances of that result in this campaign speaks plenty.)

In the final few days of campaigning Oriini Kaipara appears so far out of depth that her leader is doing the talking and making the excuses for her.

Rawiri Waititi says they’re now having her concentrate on talking directly to the voters and not to the media. They’re playing what he calls a “ground game.”

Hmmm.

It is possible to do both, and on the same day. Most aspiring politicians do. Only those scared of winning office hide from a TV camera, especially one who was once a TV journalist. Speaking through the media is a far more effective way of campaigning than talking to shoppers at Manukau Mall.

Then more excuses. Te Pati Maori co-leader saying on 1News that “her policy knowledge is where she should be, in a very short period of time.” Fully prepped candidates know their policy, especially four days out from polling day.

Waititi realises he has a major issue. Te Pati Maori have picked a very poor candidate who should come a distant second to Peeni Henare.

More disturbing so far is the low turnout. There are 43,796 registered to vote in Tamaki Makarau. Polling booths are open for 12 days before the official polling day on Saturday September 6th. After 8 of those days only 3216 votes had been cast. Maybe the pace of polling will pick up and there could be a huge turnout on Saturday. But don’t hold your breath. In the 2023 General Election 27,885 votes were cast in Tamaki Makarau, a turnout of 65 percent. Nationwide turnout was 78 percent, but in all seven Maori electorates turnout was under 70 percent.

Despite what their leaders want, Maori voters are just not as exercised as the general population. The low quality Te Pati Maori candidate in this by-election is not going to improve the situation.

Writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Subscribe to Peter William's Substack here