National-Maori Party coalition a possibility

Former National Party President Michelle Boag says a National and Maori Party coalition would be a possibility.

Appearing on Eye to Eye with Willie Jackson on TV ONE on Saturday morning, Boag said there was clearly room for discussion on some form of working relationship between the Maori Party and National, and to suggest that Maori would always vote Labour was "flippant."

"There are some serious philosophical issues here and I don’t think a positive future for Maoridom can take place in Labour’s welfare dependent philosophy. And there’s a big chunk of the Maori Party and Maoridom that find National’s philosophy in terms of self-determination and autonomy and self-reliance very appealing. And so I think it is absolutely flippant to say ‘Oh no, Maori will always vote Labour.’ I think that the Maori world is changing, the demographics of the Maori world are changing and there are people there who understand that in fact they’re going to get further ahead under a National philosophy than a Labour one and so I think there is some room for discussion.”

Political Commentator Matthew Hooten agreed with Boag and said some in National had seen synergies with the Maori Party for some time. Not just in the area of welfare dependency, but in terms of the rule of law.

"If the Maori Party, their number one issue, the foreshore and seabed, if they look at that issue that was a case where Michael Cullen, in that case introduced retrospective legislation to take away the right of Maori to go to court, and National should have stood with Maori on that issue against the Labour Party."

Eye to Eye was discussing how the political parties are performing nearly a year since the last election. Joining Boag and Hooten on the discussion panel were political commentator Chris Trotter and former Alliance President Matt McCarten.

Eye To Eye with Willie Jackson will be repeated on TV ONE at 11pm on Tuesday.

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