The Co-Leader of the newly merged Advance NZ Party, Billy Te Kahika, will take his fight for democracy to the heart of government by going head to head with Kelvin Davis.

“Our rights and freedoms are being eroded by this Government’s policies, and their failure to delivery for our people up north.

“Te Tai Tokerau is my home and where my wife and children whakapapa to.

“I grew up in a state house myself and have built an economic base from very humble beginnings from lots of hard work.

“Now I live on a small farm with my whanau, we home school our children and we live a very quiet and humble home life.

“But we are in a war for our democracy and freedoms, and I decided that as a genuine, everyday Kiwi I would fight to defend our children’s futures.

“Our people deserve better, and Labour have taken support in the Tai Tokerau for granted every time it is in Government and they have failed to deliver anything for our people.

“Kelvin Davis hasn’t delivered for Maori or even the Maori Tourism Sector as Minister of Tourism. Our people are just as poor, just as jobless, just as homeless as they were before and all I see when I examine Labour’s and his performance is they have done literally nothing.

“And Kelvin is the number two in the Labour Party. If Kelvin can’t deliver, it’s time for him to step aside and let real leadership with backbone serve our people’.

“Te Tai Tokerau doesn’t tolerate under performing MPs. That’s why in the last 30 years Labour has lost this seat more often than it has won it.

“I like Kelvin as a person, but now people in this rohe tell me he is just ‘another Kūpapa Maori’ which is tough to hear but is the feedback I am hearing.

“I am the Co-Leader of Advance NZ and we will delivering greater rights and freedoms for New Zealand and real outcomes in the areas that need addressing in Te Tai Tokerau’.

“At the same time I will stand for the NZ Public Party as the candidate in Te Tai Tokerau.

“As your MP for Te Tai Tokerau I will ensure we deliver more jobs for our people, more economic hope and opportunity, and more housing – but housing projects that will enable more Maori ownership. Not just simple social housing that equates to continual offering of a road to nowhere and in a slum, low socio economic environment.

“These are the fundamental necessities of life that we are losing around here with Maori living in cars and even in tree huts which underlines we have a government under Labour that continues to fail us.

“I am a small businessman and entrepreneur. I will bring together agencies in the north to create real business based economic development opportunities.

“We will fast track work to bring the Auckland Port to the North to create jobs.

“We will invest in high quality fast build housing to speed up new homes for our people, and housing near the new sources of employment.

“We will work with our whanau, hapu, and iwi to make greater use of our natural resources to generate jobs and grow our local economy. Local projects such as Maara Kai projects will also have some priority so that we utilise our whenua to feed our whanau and create income.

“That’s how our nation started – Maori living from the land, surviving with the land, and in control of our own destiny.

“If the Tai Tokerau sends Billy Te Kahika to the Beehive, Billy Te Kahika will bring back our own putea for our own people and our own future.

"I will fight hard to get the best – not just as political speak but from a sense of it being time for justice and outcomes for our people.”

ENDS.

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