Vision New Zealand is delighted to be launching Sonny Wilcox as its candidate for Manurewa today, 25th June, 1pm, Manurewa Marae, 81 Finlayson Avenue, Manurewa.

Party Leader Hannah Tamaki said “Sonny is a gifted young family man who has a great reputation as a accomplished orator in Maori and is also well known for his Iwi Liaison work throughout South Auckland and the Manurewa area. He is currently a member of the Manurewa marae, the treasurer of the South Auckland Maori Council, a proxy member of the New Zealand Maori Council and chairs the Te Kahui o Wiri Maori committee. We are very confident he will be a strong contender in this electorate so I am looking forward to introducing him to the community of Manurewa tomorrow”.

Sonny served with the NZ Police for 10 years as a youth worker, social worker, coordinator, Iwi Liaison Officer and Pouwhakataki Iwi Liaison Sergeant. He is currently employed at Manukau Institute of technology as the Māori development and training manager and along with his wife, Sonny also runs a consultancy company providing language, cultural advice and education to various corporates across the North Island. He is an associate at The Learning Wave in the CBD.

“This young man has spoken on some of the most prominent Māori platforms i.e. before the Kiingitanga & King Tūheitia at Waahi Pā, Rātana Pā, Waitangi and Parihaka to name a few.” Said Hannah.

Sonny will be outling Vision New Zealand’s bold policy for Pacifica Peoples.

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“Pacifica and Tangata Whenua have an historic relationship through their shared ancestry and it’s high time New Zealand acknowledges and honours that through policy. I am proud to be announcing innitatives that will ensure our Pacifica brothers and sisters get every opportunity to succeed and thrive and we intend to give them a cleared pathway to citizenship.

“There is quite a ‘buzz’ around Sonny’s launch today so we are expecting a strong representation from the Pacifica and Maori communites and a good sized crowd of interested people from Manurewa to join us today at the Manurewa Marae.” said Party Secretary Anne Williamson.

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