Waatea News Column: Māori Party rebuilding politics with digital Marae
The most interesting feature of the recent flurry of polling is how resilient the Māori Party vote is.
It hasn’t dipped and has in fact strengthened.
Why?
Back in December 2020, the NZ Social Media Study put out by Victoria University analysed more than 3000 posts from Labour, National, NZ First, Greens, the Māori Party, The Opportunities Party, Advance NZ and the Conservative Party.
It found that the Māori Party posted relentlessly positive messaging which made it the most positive social media campaign of the 2020 election.
If you go along now to the Facebook page of the Māori Party you will see them posting as a digital community. Morning exercise routines, daily chats, singalongs – the Māori Party have grasped the concept of a digital Marae and the community building power that interconnectedness can generate.
This means they have a unique cultural counterpoint to almost every other political party using social media, the fruits of which suggest the Māori Party will only continue to build electoral support.
The real possibility of the Māori Party being part of the 2023 Government can’t be ruled out if they continue to poll well.
First published on Waatea News.
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The problem for the Maori party is that they will need to be in coalition with another party that is elected by and beholding to the 85% non Maori.
The Maori Party ability to push changes (especially ones that lead to a loss of democracy based on one person one equal vote) will come up against their major coalition party needing to placate their electors.
If we look at the He PuaPua as an example. That had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the shadows of a storage cabinet draw in the basement of the Labour Party, into the sunlight.
Surely if that report is the guiding light both Labour and the Maori party would be holding it up as the shining example for the new republic.
But no; Labour (and especially their Maori caucus – which is 30% of Labour) kept it out of the public view.
Simply because the electorate when fully informed may not vote for any part of its introduction and hence why Labour will tug their forelock to Maori for now but come election time? Not so sure Labour, getting into bed with the Maori party is a vote winner.
Labour are not after votes – a lot of their social policies and other decisions are not vote winners. National and Act rely on dirty politics and playing the race ticket. Those Tory parties have never been sympathetic to Maori issues. They are conservative and oppose everything for vote catching purposes.
I think the Maori Party did well for the Maori people when they threw their lot in with National. I do no see them making much progress with Labour dispite the large number of their people in cabinet. I am obviously not Maori but to me these two representatives are grand standing and trying to look clever but not succeeding. Get ride of the coboy hat .
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Unfortunately Trevor I think the two Maori Party leaders of that era did well for themselves. These two present as more patriotically aligned to Maori and it’s history than just being part of corporate N.Z. like Marama Fox attempted to be.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/116190972/my-sympathy-has-gone-liquidators-on-the-hunt-for-marama-fox
Add to that ACT’s David Seymour has no time for the Maori Party or it’s seats. The Maori Party will go with Labour or sit on the cross benches. They will never go with National again as the voters showed when the Maori party were voted out of parliament because of their betrayal of Maori when with National.
Thank you Bert . I like to think I keep up with what is going on but the information about Marama Fox was news to me . It shows the importance of blogs like this where knowledge is shared .
The money problems might have mainly come from the failure of an affordable housing businesss Marama Fox was trying to get going. Good wish and really
similar to what government should be doing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/107586507/former-mp-marama-fox-owes-over-150k-after-affordable-housing-business-failed?rm=a
Rawiri and Packer are good as.
I don’t doubt that for a moment Greywarbler. A business venture is also about making money and unfortunately Fox did not accept responsibility for her failure leaving many in debt. The fact she ” did a runner” tells me more about her as a person and leaves in doubt her political mana. I can recall her being an extremely dismissive personality type.
I agree the government should be doing more on affordable housing. I’m just unsure any government could do this now with building materials and land costs let alone labour costs. Perhaps borrowing like we did Covid to build affordable housing and cap the cost per house at $400,000. The loss incurred can be recouped by lesser demand on social housing, emergency accommodation and health and social needs.