Font Size:     

Ko te titiro whakamuri ki te āhua o tā te Māori tū ki roto
i te paremata o Aotearoa, te whakapiri atu o ngā kaipōti
Māori ki te rōpū Reipa i mua i te tau 1996, me te whakarere
anō i a Reipa i te pōtitanga whānui o taua tau – koirā ngā
kaupapa o tēnei tuhinga.
Ka āta tirohia ngā take o tā te iwi hāpai i te tumuaki o
Aotearoa Tuatahi me tana kaihautū tuarua, me ngā hua i
puta. Ka kōrerohia te āhua o tā Reipa aro anō ki ngā
kaipōti i muri mai i te tau 1996.

This paper briefly explores the background to Māori
representation in Parliament before tracing the
development of Labour's acquisition of the Māori vote
up until 1996. It then considers the reasons for the loss
of that loyalty at the 1996 General Election.
It is argued that the populist Māori leader and the
deputy leader of the New Zealand First Party had
enormous appeal for Māori voters. The impact of this
populism and of the MMP electoral system on the Māori
electorate is examined. The nature of Labour's response
to this unprecedented surge in Māori support for a minor
party, and the dynamics of the Māori electoral population
are further themes of the paper. Some of the strategies
and attitudes Labour must adopt if it is to regain that Māori
confidence are also explored.