HAMILTON (CU)_The people of Tauranga will head to polls on 18 June, to vote in the by-election, which will be held when the seat becomes vacant due to the resignation of former National Party leader Simon Bridges. The Māori Party, a political party advocating indigenous rights in New Zealand says it previously considered standing a candidate in the election but has now decided against it.
According to the Party’s president Che Wilson, the decision was made in view of racism and hate speech in Tauranga, which made it a “safety issue” for the party to participate in the upcoming by-election. “The first hate-speech conviction and the belittling of te reo Māori at a public event took place in Tauranga, even our co-leaders have been the recipient of threats and hate speech by Tauranga residents,” he said, in a statement. “By standing in the by-election, we would be consciously sending our people into an unsafe environment and can only imagine how hard this is for our whanaunga and iwi of Tauranga Moana.”
Incidents of racism in Tauranga have increased significantly over the recent years, with a complaint being laid with the police by Te Pāti Māori regarding several videos which had surfaced on YouTube of a man calling for violence against Māori. A 44-year-old man from the harbourside city was later convicted of inciting hatred against the indigenous community, by publishing videos including death threats against them. The matter is also widespread in the city’s political arena, including an incident in May last year, when a woman started a Ratepayers’ Alliance meeting with a short mihi (a Māori ceremonial greeting). The Bay of Plenty Times filmed several members of the Alliance shouting “speak English”, and “we don’t want to hear that”.
