Te Pāti Māori President John Tamihere is today announcing at the annual Rātana celebrations the selection of Party Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngā Rauru) to win back the Te Tai Hauāuru electorate in the 2023 general election.

“We are thrilled to announce today at Rātana Pā that Debbie will take back the Te Tai Hauāuru electorate for Te Pāti Māori and strengthen our Māori movement for equality and rangatiratanga,” said Mr Tamihere.

“Alongside Rawiri, Debbie’s efforts in Parliament have been simply outstanding. Aotearoa knows what the Māori position is, why it is and on every level it is advanced in a just, evidenced-based and reasoned way.

“As a List MP, Debbie has already been relentless in advancing the interests of her people and continuing to build our presence in the electorate. As an electorate MP, with the resource and mandate that comes with that, there will be nothing to stop her from putting Te Tai Hauāuru’s kaupapa at the absolute forefront of the national political agenda,” said Tamihere.

“I’m proud to once again have the faith of my electorate and party to fly the flag in Te Tai Hauāuru on behalf of our unapologetic Māori movement and alongside what will be a formidable team of Te Pāti Māori candidates across Aotearoa,” said Mrs Ngarewa-Packer.

“It’s an honour to announce my candidacy here at Rātana among my whanaunga of te iwi mōrehu, and celebrate T.W Rātana’s political legacy of honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and eradicating poverty.

“Our work to represent the people of Te Tai Hauāuru has never stopped and as a List MP I have already been able to make progress on our kaupapa such as healthcare, seabed mining, Māori wards, inequality, racism, housing and freshwater.

“This year I’m excited by the opportunity to continue travelling around our huge electorate to meet with whānau, hapū, iwi and our Māori organisations to listen and learn what issues you need advanced from your Te Tai Hauāuru MP,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

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