Incumbent Te Tai Hauāuru MP and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has officially cast her vote at the Highbury Whānau Centre in Palmerston North.
Reflecting on her journey across the electorate throughout the election period, Ngarewa-Packer expressed gratitude for the reception and support she received from local communities.
“The highlight has been the manaaki, the aroha and the tautoko that Te Tai Hauāuru has given me,” she says.
Framing the vote as a defining moment for tangata whenua and the wider electorate, she urged constituents across the region to turn out and deliver a decisive verdict. Pointing directly to government policy decisions over recent years, she delivered a firm rallying call to voters:
“This government has harmed our whanau, harmed our mokopuna, hapū and iwi in ways that are unimaginable and we’ve endured some pretty revolting abuse that they’ve used their legislative might to do, so this is our one chance to bring an end of the tyranny of this Government,” she said.
With voting drawing to a close, Ngarewa-Packer continues her push across Te Tai Hauāuru, focusing on grassroots voter mobilisation to secure independent Māori representation in Parliament.