Maori MP brushes off King’s criticisms

Speculation that Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta will not contest her Hauraki-Waikato seat in this year’s election has been quashed.

Mahuta confirmed at Ratana on Tuesday that she was throwing her hat in the ring despite Maori King Tuheitia - who she is a close relative and adviser to abandoning Labour and switching his loyalties to the Maori Party in a speech last year.

‘‘I will be standing as the candidate for Hauraki-Waikato for Labour. I’ve thought about it over a long period of time. Obviously there has been a lot of speculation but what I know is we need a change of government to ensure that the basic inequities that exist in New Zealand are reversed.’’

She said Tuheitia’s speech at the 10th anniversary of his coronation, where he said he’d never vote Labour again, was a ‘‘reflection of Tuheitia as an individual’’.

‘‘I didn’t take it as a personal reflection on me.

‘‘The electorate I represent is pretty challenging so those are some of the reasons why I’m going to stand again ... we’ve got to tackle the issues of disparity, inequality and poverty - those are the bread and butter issues that really matter to people.’’

Mahuta is ranked No 12 in the Labour Party and holds the conservation and Whanau Ora portfolios.

After being appointed to lead Ngati Maniapoto’s Treaty settlement negotiations, she had to relinquish being spokeswoman for Treaty negotiations to avoid a conflict of interest.

Kelvin Davis, spokesman for Maori Development and Corrections, picked up the portfolio.