March 23, 2017
Te Taitokerau not for sale
Te Taitokerau MP Kelvin Davis says he doesn’t feel staying off the party list is a gamble.
He’s facing Mana’s Hone Harawira, who has done a deal with the Maori Party to avoid splitting the anti-Labour vote as he tries to get back the seat he lost in 2014.
All six Labour MPs in Maori electorates have asked to be left off the party list for September’s election, opening the door for more Maori to come into parliament because they will get their higher rankings on Labour’s list.
Mr Davis says it highlights the importance of the seats and the Maori vote to Labour.
"I'm just the caretaker of this Taitokerau seat. I don't own it, I never take it for granted, I've never put it up to the highest bidder as happened before the last election. This is a seat of the people and we need people to keep coming through in a succession plan and that is my commitment to the people of Taitokerau," he says.
Kelvin Davis says he’s asking voters to give him a couple of terms as minister so he can make some positive changes before he steps aside.
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