Te Pāti Māori: Best for Everyone
Photo from Stuff
I’m a Te Pāti Māori supporter through and through. Their unapologetic advocacy for tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake, their people-focused policies that aim to lift up our most vulnerable members of society, their ability to make us as Māori feel proud and confident in who we are and what we offer. Their level of representation has never been so powerful, having made huge strides in the last three years. To be honest, only three years ago, they weren’t even on my radar.
The first time I was eligible to vote, I was 20 years old in the grim year 2020. Initially, I went into election mode with the fullest intentions to vote Labour, given the advice to vote for a big party so they definitely get in. Growing up in a National voting whānau (fuck National, btw), I was determined to not let Judith “Talofa” Collins run this country. However, that’s when I learnt the beautiful concept of coalition, with a lot of kōrero about a Green and Labour coalition coming to rise. Politically, I aligned strongly with the Green Party (still do), and so decided to give them my party vote.
80 years old, my koro is a loyal Te Pāti Māori voter. When he said he was going to vote for them in the 2020 election, my ignorance crept into my judgment. I’d grown up hearing nothing but bad things about the party, how they had no chance of making a difference because of being a minor party with small polling results, especially having been kicked out of Parliament entirely in 2017. But in hindsight, my koro was ahead of the game, seeing the potential in Te Pāti Māori that many of us were blind to.
What many people in this country don’t realise is what’s best for Māori truly is best for everyone, and we need this Māori voice within our political scope in order to create meaningful change. From a student perspective, many of Te Pāti Māori’s policies lend themselves in our favour. As said by Te Pāti Māori member Debbie Ngarewa-Packer in a 2022 Metro Mag article The Rise and Rise of Te Pāti Māori, “Inequality, cost of living, housing, health and opportunities for our rangatahi are the issues the next election will centre around."
Let’s look first at their incomes policy, more specifically their student support plan, dedicated to ensuring that there is an adequate income to survive on whilst our cost of living continues to rise. As Te Pāti Māori points out, Māori tauira are more likely to face barriers in tertiary education. Some proposals put forward include:
Increasing abatement rates for benefits and student allowances
Establishing a universal student allowance and DOUBLING these rates
Free public transport for students at all levels
Getting rid of the living cost factors of all student loans, as well as getting rid of the total student loan for those who work in Aotearoa for five years
Yes, this plan was created with our Māori tauira at the centre, but it also has potential to hugely benefit the wider student population. How many of us are routinely being fucked over by our hefty student loan, our measly student allowances that barely allow us to get by on a weekly basis, transport barriers that prohibit us getting from A to B? What’s best for Māori is best for everyone, you see? By lifting Māori tauira up, we can all flourish together.
We then move onto Te Pāti Māori’s tax policy, aiming to move the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy in order to achieve economic justice. Due to the ongoing effects of colonisation, Māori are overrepresented statistically when it comes to poverty, homelessness, youth crime and more. With the richest 10% in this country owning 50% of the wealth, while the poorer half scrapes by on 2%, Māori whānau, Māori tauira and the wider student population are deeply affected by these issues. Potential solutions under this policy are:
Removing GST from kai, as well as stricter regulations against supermarkets increasing prices (on average, whānau could buy SEVEN WEEKS OF FREE FOOD per year under this policy!! Game changer.)
Mighty tax cuts for almost 90% of Aotearoa. It’s fair to assume that students, even those working part-time, earn less than $30K a year. Under this policy, they would pay no tax and get an extra $82 a week and $4,270 a year.
Unoccupied dwelling or “ghost house” tax. With a multitude of whare left empty for long periods of time in a housing crisis, a tax rate at 33% of the market value will be implemented after a six-month period of no tenancy.
When it comes to affording nourishing kai as a tauira, the struggle is REAL. The fact that buying fresh fruit and veggies is not an option for the majority of us is shocking, so I’ll take that GST cut, please and thank you. An extra $82 a week also has huge potential to make our day-to-day living easier. Personally, I’m on $281 a week from student loan, having to work 18 hours a week in addition to my studies just to survive. After rent, I’m left with $81 a week, so to increase that by double would make such a huge difference. Finding affordable housing, or even housing in general, is also a fucking mish, so it’s gutting to see that in the 2018 Census, there were 191,649 unoccupied dwellings in Aotearoa. That tax would push these owners into obtaining tenancies, providing more options for Māori whānau and our tauira nationwide. We ALL deserve a safe, healthy home to call our own.
Despite Te Pāti Māori’s journey up the political ladder, Aotearoa is still in fear of being “divided by race” (fuck the ACT party, btw). In reality, they’re not afraid of race division. They’re afraid of Māori leadership. Afraid of us finally gaining the power that we’ve always rightfully deserved at the decision-making table, because if that’s a reality, it means the Pākeha systems can’t get away with beating our people down. They are so afraid, in fact, that on Friday night, Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana Maipi-Clarke had her home broken into and vandalised. 1News said this appears to be the first time that a “politician’s home and personal property has been invaded to this extent”. Yet, Hana doesn’t let this stifle her passion and pride to be Māori, calling herself “a māramatanga to us that we belong in these places… I am not scared.”
I’m proud to say that Te Pāti Māori completely proved me and many others wrong. Small but mighty, their radical representation has taken Aotearoa by storm, and for the first time in history, they hit a record 5% in the polls earlier this year. My koro was truly onto something, a hard-hitting reminder for me to trust in my wise kaumatua, those who have seen it all before I was brought onto this Earth. If he could see the potential, who was I to doubt him?
In an Instagram story I reposted recently, @kaiadelvene reminded us of that trap I fell into three years ago - voting for a small party is not a wasted vote. We’re not a two-party system and coalition with a bigger party IS possible, although understandably, Te Pāti Māori refuses to join National or ACT due to their anti-Māori policies (fuck David Seymour btw). If you’re Māori, this party is for you, so make your vote count. If you’re non-Māori, do what’s best for Māori, in turn to receive what’s best for you. Honour Te Tiriti, honour tāngata whenua on this land you live, and exercise your voting rights effectively. If not Te Pāti Māori, then PLEASE go Green, who share many of our core values. Nevertheless, Te Pāti Māori have undeniably proven themselves as a worthy opponent in the political game, and I am staunch in my decision to give Te Pāti Māori my two ticks when the time comes around. Are you?
Glossary:
Tino rangatiratanga – self-determination, absolute sovereignty, etc
Mana motuhake – self-determination, independence, sovereignty, etc
Tauira – students
Te Tiriti – Treaty of Waitangi
Tāngata whenua – people of the land