Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has brought the party’s election campaign to Porirua, joining supporters at Waitangirua Markets and campaigning across the city.
Ngarewa-Packer spent the weekend in Waitangirua and Cannons Creek, with volunteers distributing campaign material and supporters gathering at several locations across eastern Porirua.
Campaign activity included leaflet drops around Cannons Creek and Mungavin Avenue, along with flag waving near the Tītahi Bay Road and Hagley Street roundabout.
Ngarewa-Packer represents Te Tai Hauāuru, the Māori electorate which includes Porirua, and has been a Te Pāti Māori co-leader since 2020.
Her Porirua visit comes as the party campaigns ahead of the November election, with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori political representation among its major campaign issues.
Ngarewa-Packer also used the visit to highlight a difference between Te Pāti Māori and Labour over the future role of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Te Pāti Māori announced this month it would make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown. It has also proposed establishing a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti and requiring every Bill before Parliament to include a Te Tiriti impact statement.
Labour MP Willie Jackson has publicly rejected making Tribunal recommendations binding.
Speaking to RNZ this week, Jackson said: “They believe in entrenching the [Waitangi] Tribunal vote, for instance. Well, we’d never support that, never.”
Ngarewa-Packer said the disagreement demonstrated the need for an independent Māori political voice.
“This is why Te Pāti Māori are needed, why an unapologetic Māori voice is needed,” she said.
“These things he describes aren’t some massively outrageous concept, they’re necessary.
“We can’t keep flip flopping just left or just right of the middle, we need transformational.
“After a term of absolute attacks on Te Tiriti, we can’t accept any less.”
Te Pāti Māori has increasingly sought to distinguish itself from Labour as the two parties compete for support in the Māori electorates.
At the party’s campaign launch in Gisborne earlier this month, Ngarewa-Packer urged supporters to give their electorate vote to Te Pāti Māori candidates, while using their party vote to support the wider left bloc.
Ngarewa-Packer is seeking re-election in Te Tai Hauāuru, which she has represented since 2023 after first entering Parliament as a list MP in 2020.
The 2026 General Election will be held on Saturday, November 7, with advance voting beginning on October 26.
