Tāmaki Makaurau by-election debate review

I had the privilege of covering the only Tāmaki Makaurau by-election debate between Peeni and Oriini held last night at the Waatea Marae.

What an amazing night, not just for Labour or the Māori Party who both fielded incredible candidates, but for all of Māoridom.

Oriini was amazing and incredibly passionate, this was her first real outing as a candidate beyond her Social Media First appearances, which may have been a mistake because she really is impressive and should have been seen a lot more in this campaign than she has so far.

Peeni had the gravitas and in an election defined by the economic vandalism of the Right, he had the authority to point out that only he and Labour could make the changes and cut the deals to manifest real material difference in Tāmaki Makaurau.

There was a moment when a Vision NZ fanatic attempted to hijack the debate by storming the stage, that fanatic was quickly kicked out and Oriini singing over the top of him was a beautiful Māori way of dealing with the situation.

He squealed when they pushed him out of the mare.

Apparently Hannah is pissed off that I asked her which books she would ban if she won the by-election on The Bradbury Group on Tuesday night.

As for Peeni’s ‘mistake‘ of the Gang Patch Ban, seeing as that story has led the news, it’s probably a good ‘mistake‘ to make to the Tamaki Makaurau electorate.

Maoridom was the winner on the night of this debate.

There was a kindness, an aroha and a mana in the event.

Congratulations to Waatea for setting the agenda, the tech team was amazing, Claudette Hauiti was incredible, Dale Husband had the best night of his life and Matthew Tukaki should feel deeply proud of the evening.

The by-election is September 6th, Tāmaki Makaurau voters have an enormous task in front of them.

Māori voters in the Māori electorates are some of the most tactical voting blocks in NZ.

The Labour Party argument of vote in Peeni and also get Georgie Dansey off the Party list, Georgie is Māori, so that’s 2 for 1 and that calculation has real currency amongst Māori Electorates.

If Labour wins, Tāmaki Makaurau voters will be sending a message they expect the Māori Party as the junior party to work with Labour.

If the Māori Party wins, they will have succeeded in using a Social Media First campaign that will reset election campaigns and it will be a clear message from Tāmaki Makaurau voters that they expect Labour to work with the Māori Party, not the other way around.

The ramifications of this result will reverberate all the way to the Election 2026.

Democracy and Māoridom were the winners on the night.

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