BFD Political corner: Election 2020 is a series that features political speeches, political ads and political campaigns on Social media from a range of different political parties in the lead up to the New Zealand election.

Today we have the Maori Party:

Countdown Conversations

Tena koe Friend -Kia oraKei nga kaihapai i nga kaupapa huri noa i te motu, tena koutou.  Tena hoki tatau me te ahuatanga ki nga mate o te wa.  Kua rupeke atu ratau ki te po, e moe e oki.  Hoki tonu mai ki a tatau te takatu nei, kia ora katoa tatau.

With 40 days till election day we have a heap of mahi to do and our team are continuing to crack up their campaigns.  From fundraising events, putting up hoardings, delivering pamphlets, TV and radio interviews, dealing with vandalised billboards, abuse towards candidates and their whanau through to outright exclusion and racism from TVNZ, it all shows that we are posing a real threat and must be vigilant.

In this panui we also acknowledge co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa Packer from Te Tai Hauauru.

TVNZ

When is enough, enough? TVNZ had decided that the Maori Party will not feature on their debates because we don’t meet thresholds that are set by those in power.  Some are saying it’s because we are a small Party but the fact is, we are the only indigenous Party in Aotearoa and this must be recognised.

Yes other parties have Maori, but we are the only indigenous political Party and if TVNZ are true to te Tiriti o Waitangi, then our voice must be given equal treatment with the other political parties that are being given screen time for the TVNZ debates. We need you to email TVNZ directly to force them to change their decision while we continue to look at other options to keep this issue at the front of our fight to return to Parliament.

Follow this link to Make a Formal Complaint to TVNZ.

Oranga Tamariki

Last week Mariameno attend with our Dames, the Oranga Tamariki Tribunal hearing in Wellington and this week we also had the launch of the Ombudsman Report on Oranga Tamariki.  The issues raise at both kaupapa are consistent and not a surprise and we must stand up to this blatant racism aimed at our tamariki, mokopuna and whanaul.  It was also a chance for Mariameno and John to support Takuta at a fundraiser organised by the Wellington branch of Te Tai Tonga.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer mo Te Tai Hauauru

The BFD

Debbie is no stranger to the iwi world and has been CEO from Ngati Ruanui in Taranaki for some time now.  Debbie was raised in Patea and the rise of Patea Maori Club is part of who she is and if you weren’t at her launch, you can watch some of the Patea Maori Club whanau singing and taking us all back down memory lane. Debbie has also been Deputy Mayor for South Taranaki District, is passionate about bridging our Rangatahi to the technology opportunities in Silicon Valley as well as gaining a name as a strong environmental advocate.

Debbie and her iwi have led the way in Taranaki to fight against seabed mining and though there may be another appeal, this will only help invigorate the wh?nau fight to protect Tangaroa and the taiao. Debbie is married to Neil and they have three tamariki and five mokopuna.  They live near Hawera and if there’s one thing about Debbie, she will fight for our people and use her voice and not be silenced.

Please send us links to any speeches, social media campaigns, funny memes and any other political content promoted by NZ political parties for inclusion in this series. They don’t have to be good, they just need to be what is being used by a political party to fight this election.

I am confident that our viewers will critique the content’s effectiveness in the comments.

A contribution from The BFD staff.