'Ka Koi' heads to the capital
te-pati-maori
Sun Nov 20 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
'Ka Koi' heads to the capital
Sunday, 20 November 2011, 9:29 pm
Press Release: The Maori Party
'Ka Koi' heads to the capital
Ken Mair, Co Vice-President, Maori Party
Sunday 20 November 2011
The Maori Party today came to the capital, flags flying high, and supporters following in what they have described as a 'ka koi' - a convey of cars.
"A 'ka-koi' is like a hikoi on wheels" said Ken Mair. "It's also a bit of a play on the word - koi - to mean sharp of mind, and I can tell you we were all looking pretty sharp today!"
"It's been a great day. We started off at 7am in Whanganui, have travelled right through the southern part of Te Tai Hauauru; and then spent the afternoon with the people of Te Tai Tonga, in support of our candidate and MP for Te Tai Tonga, Rahui Katene".
"Everywhere we have been, there has been great support - whether it be car horns blowing; people cheering in support; or the comments we've got around the malls in the suburbs and city of greater Wellington".
"Rahui is well supported from Tawa through to parts of the Hutt Valley as far north as Wellington" said Mr Mair. "It's an absolute testimony to her work in the electorate to see how well known she is".
"Te Tai Tonga is unique amongst all electorates, Maori and general, for its exceptional size - 161,000 square kilometres. It comprises all of the South Island, Rakiura/Stewart Island, the Chatham Islands and Wellington - it's huge".
"Rahui has worked solidly and extensively, visiting every part of the electorate, holding clinics, and taking up the issues for her constituency over what can only be described as an immensely challenging term, what with the catastrophic events occuring in the West Coast and Canterbury".
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"And yet, there is always so much more to do.
Hence, the Maori Party has as one of its manifesto goals, "We will amend section 45 of the Electoral Act to be consistent with section 35 of that Act, meaning no Maori electoral district shall be situated partially in the North Island and partially in the South Island".
But in the meantime, we have an election to contest, and it is our absolute belief that Rahui has done the work to ensure that Te Tai Tonga will continue to benefit from the dedicated service of an extremely hard-working advocate for the people".
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