Policies to give families hope
Peeni Henare, 37, is the Labour Party candidate for Tamaki Makaurau.
In the lead up to the general election, we go behind the billboards and party colours to give you a ‘first person’ insight into the aspiring candidates. We are publishing their images in black and white so you can get to see them as people not just as politicians and their political brands. #gettingcandid
Getting candid: How long have you lived here and where are you originally from?
I have lived in Tamaki Makaurau on and off since birth and have been here permanently since 2000.
Give me three words that come to mind when I say ‘South Auckland’?
Home of Ngapuhi
Where’s the best place to buy dinner in your electorate?
Sam Woos
What’s one piece of wisdom you’d like to pass on to others, particularly young people?
Whaia te iti kahurangi erangi me maumahara, he taonga te whakaiti (strive for excellence but remember to always remain humble).
What’s one trial or struggle
I admired my grandfather Sir James Henare because he was the embodiment of living in both a Maori world and a Pakeha world.
When I’ve got a free few hours I like to…
I like to read and spend time with my kids.
Tell us what your party’s policies will do for people in this community?
We have a wide range of policies that will help the people of Tamaki Makaurau from housing, education to health. Our policies are designed to build more homes for our whanau and to also reverse the imbalance that exists between renter and landlord. We know that a warm dry home is essential for a wha¯nau to be successful so we want to make sure there is significant supply of new rental homes and homes for first home buyers. We want education to be accessible to all tamariki and not a burden on parents which is why we want to increase funding to schools and allow teachers to teach instead of assessing our kids. Our education policies are designed to increase early childcare education access. We want to push for free postsecondary school education for the school leaver which will also apply to adult learners looking to upskill in a changing work landscape. This initiative will start in 2018 if we become government. Labour wants to restore the huge health funding hole that has seen hospitals turn people away. We want to reduce the cost of healthcare while also ensuring that tamariki at school have access to nurses and mental health care workers. Mental health care has been ignored for years by this government and we are making a commitment to turn this around and provide the services our communities need. Our policies have been costed by independent economists and map out our plans for the future. We want the people of Ta¯maki Makaurau to thrive and grow. For a full list of our policies please go to www.labour.org.nz