Te Pāti Māori’s 2026 campaign strategy centres on securing all seven Māori seats to solidify an independent and transformative Māori voice in Parliament.
The party is urging its base to commit their candidate or electorate vote to Te Pāti Māori candidates, emphasising the necessity of local, movement-driven representation. Regarding the party vote, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer expressed trust in the electorate, empowering supporters to make their own strategic decisions on where to cast that ballot.
“We want more Māori in Parliament and we need to retain independent unapologetic Māori voice,” Debbie Ngarewa Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori and Te Tai Hauāuru MP said.
“At the moment what we have to focus on is what we want to do, what we promise to do for our people to fight to protect to build Aotearoa,” she said.
“The candidate vote strategy for the Party Māori has announced today ensures that there’s a one term government.”
Te Pāti Māori members including all seven of their candidates met at Te Poho o Rawiri Marae over the weekend to launch their campaign for the 2026 general election.
Central to the party’s ethos is its organisational structure, which relies heavily on community engagement. “We are a movement that’s run by our electorates,” Rawiri Waititi, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori said, highlighting the importance of the ground campaign and the role of local members in driving success.
Beyond mere political maneuvering, the party is pushing for substantial, lasting impacts. When discussing policy goals, the leadership emphasized the need for structural shifts, stating, “We don’t want to restore where it was for the minute before this coalition came in… We want to have an enduring systemic change,” Waititi said.
For Te Tai Hauauru, this represents a commitment to policies that will provide support for the long term, moving away from temporary fixes toward genuine Te Tiriti-based solutions.
He Rautaki Hou mō ngā tūru e whitu
Kei te āta whakarite a Te Pāti Māori i tana rautaki mō te rōpū i roto i te rohe o Waiariki, me te whai kia whai hua ngā kaupapa katoa e hāngai ana ki te iwi. I roto i te whakahau i tēnei rautaki, i whakatau te kaiārahi i te take o te pōti me te tūru a te iwi Māori.
“Mā te pōti a tangata ka tarea tātou te turaki i tēnei kāwanatanga tuatahi,” hei tā Rawiri Waititi. Ko te whāinga nui nei, kia whai mana anō ai te iwi i roto i te whare pāremata, me te pupuri i te mana motuhake o te iwi Māori.
“Tuarua, ka tare anō ki te whai te maha o tātou ki roto i te whare me te mea hoki ka pupuri tonu ki te reo motuhake a te iwi Māori ki rō pāremata,” hei tāna anō.
“Koinā hoki te hua o tēnei mea i roto, i roto i ngā tau e haere ake nei ka tini anō hoki te strategy”. E whakapono ana te rōpū i roto i te rohe o Waiariki, mā te āta whakamahere me te whai i te rautaki tika, ka taea e rātou te whakatutuki i ngā wawata o te iwi.
He whakatūpato nā te Mema Pāremata mō Tāmaki Makaurau: “Kaua e hoki mai tēnei kāwanatanga“
Kua puta te whakatūpato a Oriini Kaipara, te Mema Pāremata o Tāmaki Makaurau, ki ngā kaipōti kia tūpato i te pōtitanga ā te 7 o Noema, e whakatika nei. I a ia e kōrero ana ki Te Poho o Rawiri, i whakanuia e ia te mana o te pōti hei taputapu kaha rawa atu hei tiaki i te iwi Māori.
I runga i tōna mōhio ki ngā ture kua whakatakotoria e te kāwanatanga o nāianei i roto i ngā tau e toru kua taha ake, e mataku ana a Kaipara mō ngā pānga o ēnei ture ki ngā reanga e heke mai nei.
“Ki te kore tātou e puta ki te pōti ā te tuawhitu o Noema, ka pau ētahi rima tekau tau tātou, ā tātou mokopuna e whawhai ana i tērā whawhai,” te kī a Kaipara.
I roto i tana whaikōrero, i hoki mahara ia ki tōna ake taiohitanga, i a ia e uaua ana ki te rapu moni hei hoko kai, hei hoko kope hoki mō tana tamāhine. E ai ki a ia, nō reira tōna mōhio ki te mamae e pā nei ki ngā māmā me ngā whānau e noho pōhara ana i tēnei wā.
“Nōku tekau mā whitu tau te pakeke ka whānau taku uri tuarua, koia ko taku tamāhine te mea i waimarie ai ahau kia tū hei kuia i tēnei rā… e mōhio ana ahau ki te kaute i ngā hereni ki te kaute i ngā kapa hei hoko kope hei hoko kai,” tāna i kōrero ai.
I whakanuia hoki e ia tōna tūnga hei wahine Māori mau moko kauwae, e kore nei e “takoto whāroro” ki mua i ngā taumahatanga. I karanga ia ki te iwi kia kotahi te hoe, kia aro nui ki te whāinga matua, arā, ko te turaki i te kāwanatanga o nāianei.
“Ehara hoki au i te wahine takoto whāroro… ahau he wahine whakapono ki te mana motuhake o tētahi nē,” i kī ai ia.
I mutu tana kōrero me te karanga kia kaua te iwi e wareware i te mana o te pōti, me te whakatūpato he nui te kino ka puta ki te kore e huri te kāwanatanga i te pōtitanga e heke mai nei.
Aperehama Edwards: Te Whakatairanga i te mana o Te Tai Tokerau
Kei te whakatairanga a Aperehama Edwards i tana kaupapa mō Te Tai Tokerau, me te aro nui ki te whakapūmautanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi me te manaakitanga o te iwi. I a ia e kōrero ana, i whakanuia e ia te Pāti Māori hei “whare whakamarumaru” mō ngā wawata me ngā hiahia o te Māori.
“Ko au e whawhai ana, e tohe ana te whakapūmautia ngā papa pounamu a ō tātou tūpuna mātua, arā ko Te Whakaputanga me te Tiriti o Waitangi,” hei tā Aperahama.
“Ko taku ngākau ko taku manawa, ko taku katoa kua whakapaua i roto i ngā tau ki te kawe i ngā take matua o Te Tai Tokerau, anā tēnei ahau e tono atu nei kia tahuri mai ki te tautoko i a au, kia kōkiri tonu atu,” hei tāna anō.
“Ko te whare whakamarumaru nei i a au, arā te pāti Māori tēnei whare me hanga i te Māori hei tāwharau, hei whakamarumaru i ngā manaako o te Māori kia kawe Māori atu e ai ki te Māori.”
E whakapono ana ia ko ngā iwi o Te Tai Tokerau te kaitiaki o te Tiriti, ā, e tū tinana ana ia ki te kawe i tēnei kawenga.
I tana huri haerenga i te rohe whānui o Te Tai Tokerau, mai i Rerenga Wairua ki Tāmaki, kua kite ia i ngā rerekētanga i waenga i te angitūtanga me te taimahatanga. E arotahi ana ana mahi ki te hāpai i ngā whānau, otirā ki te whai whare haumaru, te hauora me te mātauranga.