August 21, 2017
Labour surge boosting Maori caucus
New leader Jacinda Ardern has opened Labour’s election campaign with a clear message there was generational change in the party’s ranks and it would do things differently.
A karanga from Tui Ransfield in a darkened Auckland Town hall set the scene yesterday afternoon before Ms Ardern spelled out the challenges a Labour-led Government would tackle – child poverty, housing, mental health, clean rivers, and climate change, which she described as her generation’s nuclear free moment.
She acknowledged former leader and deputy Helen Clark and Sir Michael Cullen, who were in the audience, and Andrew Little, whose resignation from the top job three weeks ago opened the door for an extraordinary turnaround in the polls.
She also praised her deputy Kelvin Davis, who she said had the political instincts of someone directly connected to the people he served.
"We are incredibly lucky to have the leadership he provides and also to have him as a member of our Maori caucus. It is a caucus that will grow this election and we will see the strongest representation for Maori and women that we have ever had," Ms Ardern said.
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