REFLECTIVE INSIGHT #058 - MĀORI POLITICS: THE ELECTION VICTORY AND BEYOND
Steadying the Waka
We have all felt the bumps in the road. The final months of 2025 brought a lot of noise, internal arguments, and headlines about political expulsions and court cases that made it feel like our collective movement was losing its way. Here in Te Tai Tokerau, it felt like unnecessary friction. When our energy is spent fighting inside the house instead of working toward a single goal, it creates heat, and that heat just leads to confusion and disorder.
But as we sit here in May 2026, with the crucial general election coming up this November, the conversation is changing. Our leaders are focused on steadying the waka. We are moving away from the internal friction of the past year and shifting toward a clear, practical plan to safeguard our health, our housing, and our land. We are moving from simply shouting on the streets to becoming the master builders of Te Ōhanga Mauri, our own economy of life force.
Understanding the Overhang Rules
To win the battle this November, we have to understand the rules of the game, especially a rule called the "overhang" seat. In our voting system, an overhang happens when a smaller party wins more local electorate seats than its overall percentage of the nationwide party vote says it should get. When this happens, Parliament actually expands, adding extra seats to the room.
If the goal of our people is to change the current government, we can use this rule to our absolute advantage. If we maximise our choices strategically, we can create a massive block of votes and form a new centre-left government.
The Split-Ticket Strategy
The smartest way to change the government is to split our two votes on election day:
The Party Vote: Give this vote to a large opposition party, like Labour or the Greens. This ensures they get a high percentage of seats to challenge the current leadership.
The Electorate Vote: Give this vote to an independent Māori candidate, either from Te Pāti Māori or Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s new Te Tai Tokerau Party.
By doing this, we keep the major parties strong with our party votes, while our electorate wins create "overhang" seats, packing Parliament with additional Māori voices. We stop being a minor attachment to someone else's system and become the anchor of our own house.
The Urgent Need for Local Hui
However, having two strong Māori options in Te Tai Tokerau (outside the “major” parties”) creates a new risk: we might split our own local votes down the middle, allowing an unintended candidate to slide through the gap and win the seat. We cannot let that happen. Hūhana and Willow-Jean will likely get in off their party lists so won’t help our numbers by also winning the Te Tai Tokerau seat. (I’m not saying that they wouldn’t make great electorate MPs, but our critical goal is to change the government, and I don’t think we can afford to take risks!)
Before November arrives, we must hold collective community hui across the North. We need to sit down face-to-face on our marae, lay our cards on the table, and decide together which candidate we will back as a united collective. True strength has never come from the halls of Wellington; it comes from the unity we build in our own backyards. Working together and having a shared vision is more important than egos, and will set the foundation for what comes after the election.
The Wisdom of Gathering Together
Our ancient records show us that making major moves without talking to the whānau first always leads to trouble, but sitting down together brings safety and success.
"Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety." - Proverbs 11:14 (Ethiopian Orthodox Bible)
Original Ge'ez Text: እለ፡ አልቦሙ፡ ምክረ፡ ይወድቁ፡ ከመ፡ ቈጽል፤ ወበብዝኃ፡ መካርት፡ ይድኅኑ።
Te Reo Māori, Paipera Tapu, 1868 translation: “Ki te kāhore he mōhio hei ārahi, ka hinga te iwi; he ora ia kei ngā kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro tokomaha.”
Taking the Reins
It is time to stop waiting for a permission slip from the government to tell us how to live. Ihu (Yeshua) showed us that true leadership is about serving the household and protecting the family. This November, let's use our minds, coordinate our votes, and hold our local hui to ensure our mokopuna inherit a future of balance and abundance. The current of change is in our hands.
