Labour has confirmed MP Peeni Henare will contest the by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, competing against Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara.
Henare held the seat between 2014 and the most recent general election, when he narrowly lost to the late Takutai Tarsh Kemp, who stood for Te Pāti Māori.
The list MP said his focus would be on fighting for “real solutions”.
“Everywhere I go, communities are saying loud and clear, that jobs, access to quality and affordable health services, affordable housing and relief from the rising cost of living must be a top priority,” Henare said in a statement.
“Tāmaki Makaurau is where I was born and is my home. I know the challenges that many whānau are facing. The cost of living is putting significant pressure on whānau just to put kai on the table. My focus is clear. To fight for real solutions so our people can flourish.
“This means better paying jobs, making sure that when whānau are sick, they don’t need to choose between kai and seeing the doctor and it means getting more whānau into warm, dry and safe homes.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Henare had a “deep understanding of the issues that matter” and the “track record to deliver real solutions”.
“He has the experience and track record to deliver real solutions for working families, rangatahi, kaumātua and our most vulnerable whānau.”
Labour-TPM race shapes up
National, the Greens, ACT and New Zealand First have ruled out standing a candidate in the by-election — on a date yet to be decided.
Candidacy ceremonially affirms with korowai bestowed by the late Takutai Tash Kemp’s son. (Source: 1News)
That meant the majority of voters would likely choose between Labour and Te Pāti Māori, although Vision NZ leader Hannah Tamaki has also announce she would stand.
Kaipara, a former news presenter and journalist, was announced as the candidate for Te Pāti Māori earlier this week.
‘Māori are being attacked left, right and centre for purely existing. It’s vile and it’s not good enough,” Kaipara said in a statement after she was officially selected.
“My role now is to move from covering the story to changing it.
“To every whānau in Tāmaki Makaurau, I am standing because our seat deserves to remain strong, grounded in te ao Māori, and guided by the voices of our people, united, determined, and unapologetically Māori.”
If a Te Pāti Māori candidate won the byelection, the party would keep its total at six MPs.
But if Henare — already a list MP — won the seat for Labour, then he would become an electorate MP and his party would be able to bring their next person on the list who was Georgie Dansey. Labour would go from 34 to 35 seats.
If another party won the race, there would be no change to the overall number of MPs.
In all scenarios, the total number of MPs remained at 123 due to an existing seat overhang.
