Peeni Henare to contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Labour
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour MP Peeni Henare has been confirmed as his party's candidate for the Tamaki Makaurau by-election.
The by-election was sparked by the
death of Te Pati Maori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp
last month.
Henare previously held the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, before being beaten by Kemp in the 2023 election by a majority of just four votes over Henare in 2023, with a recount widening the margin.
Henare had held the seat since 2014.
"I am humbled and honoured to be selected to represent Labour in the upcoming by-election," Henare said.
He said jobs, access to quality and affordable health services, affordable housing and relief from the rising cost of living were a top priority.
"Tāmaki Makaurau is where I was born and is my home. I know the challenges that many whānau are facing. The cost of living is putting significant pressure on whānau just to put kai on the table," Henare said.
"My focus is clear. To fight for real solutions so our people can flourish.
"This means better paying jobs, making sure that when whānau are sick, they don't need to choose between kai and seeing the doctor and it means getting more whānau into warm dry and safe homes."
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Henare is the leader Tāmaki Makaurau needs.
"He has the experience and track record to deliver real solutions for working families, rangatahi, kaumātua and our most vulnerable whānau," Hipkins said.
Former Newshub broadcaster
Oriini Kaipara
has been chosen to contest the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is yet to announce the date for a by-election.
However, the Speaker of the House published the notice of vacancy in the Gazette on Wednesday, meaning the Governor-General will issue a writ within 21 days of 9 July, instructing the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct the by-election.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
7 hours ago
- 1News
Labour confirms Peeni Henare to face Oriini Kaipara in by-election
Labour has confirmed MP Peeni Henare will contest the by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, competing against Te Pāti Māori's Oriini Kaipara. Henare held the seat between 2014 and the most recent general election, when he narrowly lost to the late Takutai Tarsh Kemp, who stood for Te Pāti Māori. The list MP said his focus would be on fighting for "real solutions". "Everywhere I go, communities are saying loud and clear, that jobs, access to quality and affordable health services, affordable housing and relief from the rising cost of living must be a top priority," Henare said in a statement. "Tāmaki Makaurau is where I was born and is my home. I know the challenges that many whānau are facing. The cost of living is putting significant pressure on whānau just to put kai on the table. My focus is clear. To fight for real solutions so our people can flourish. ADVERTISEMENT "This means better paying jobs, making sure that when whānau are sick, they don't need to choose between kai and seeing the doctor and it means getting more whānau into warm, dry and safe homes." Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Henare had a "deep understanding of the issues that matter" and the "track record to deliver real solutions". "He has the experience and track record to deliver real solutions for working families, rangatahi, kaumātua and our most vulnerable whānau." Labour-TPM race shapes up National, the Greens, ACT and New Zealand First have ruled out standing a candidate in the by-election — on a date yet to be decided. Candidacy ceremonially affirms with korowai bestowed by the late Takutai Tash Kemp's son. (Source: 1News) That meant the majority of voters would likely choose between Labour and Te Pāti Māori, although Vision NZ leader Hannah Tamaki has also announce she would stand. ADVERTISEMENT Kaipara, a former news presenter and journalist, was announced as the candidate for Te Pāti Māori earlier this week. 'Māori are being attacked left, right and centre for purely existing. It's vile and it's not good enough,' Kaipara said in a statement after she was officially selected. 'My role now is to move from covering the story to changing it. "To every whānau in Tāmaki Makaurau, I am standing because our seat deserves to remain strong, grounded in te ao Māori, and guided by the voices of our people, united, determined, and unapologetically Māori." If a Te Pāti Māori candidate won the byelection, the party would keep its total at six MPs. But if Henare — already a list MP — won the seat for Labour, then he would become an electorate MP and his party would be able to bring their next person on the list who was Georgie Dansey. Labour would go from 34 to 35 seats. If another party won the race, there would be no change to the overall number of MPs. ADVERTISEMENT In all scenarios, the total number of MPs remained at 123 due to an existing seat overhang.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
ACT sets out plan to party faithful: "Keep the government and make it better"
ACT is holding their annual rally in Auckland on Sunday. Shown: ACT leader David Seymour at the 2023 party rally. Photo: RNZ / Mohammad Alafeshat ACT has unveiled its pitch to lure a new supermarket player into New Zealand through a new fast-track approval process. It's part of the party's bid to focus on "problem solving" rather than "finger-pointing" as it looks toward the next election, to "keep the government" and make it "better". Leader David Seymour made the announcement at the party's annual rally on Sunday, in Auckland, where it considered its half-time "report card" of its performance in government . Seymour outlined the party's wins through the past year and a half - including in efforts on law and order and reducing co-governance - while signalling to the campaign ahead and the voters he wanted to claim. A key focus of Seymour's speech were the voters who he said had been treated as a "scapegoat" by the previous government. He suggested Labour chose landlords as a scapegoat for the issue of high rents. He said Labour did this because of "politics." "There are three million voters and only 120,000 are landlords so there's 23 other voters per landlord. They say the most important skill in politics is the ability to count." Along with landlords, Seymour said firearm owners, farmers and employers were affected by policies Labour put in place, as well as groups of people he said Labour had left out in the cold. "Blaming someone might feel good. We think that building something feels better," he said. "Whether you rent or own, farm or teach, build or tend, your future depends on solving the same problems, not blaming different people." His coalition partners weren't left unscathed tough, as he pointed to efforts to target big corporations as a way of making things easier for New Zealand, and targeting the cost of living. "You can understand people wanting to go after the banks or the supermarkets or the power companies. "It would be the easiest thing in the world for me to give a speech saying they're crooked and need to be punished somehow. "They should be taxed somehow, have their businesses broken up, or be watched over by even toothier watchdogs. It's the curse of zero sum thinking." His solution to the "biggest challenge we face" - the cost of living - was to loosen up what Seymour called "outdated planning and consenting rules", which were the biggest barriers to international supermarket players setting up shop in the country. "With the cost of living, the solution is not regulation but competition. Business should fear competition, not their own government." A new ACT party proposal - rather than government policy - would introduce a fast-track approval process that would streamline rezoning, consenting and investment approvals to build new supermarkets at scale. Seymour said this would allow new entrants or smaller grocers to get approval within months, not years. There was no mention in the speech of a specific player who had shown interest in setting up in New Zealand, but Seymour said he hoped it would bring a "serious extra chain to retail in New Zealand.' "Even if it doesn't, just the possibility of a new competitor can help keep competitive pressure on the incumbents," he said. "If it doesn't work, we'll know that either our market is more competitive than we thought, or we have some other problem." Ultimately, he told the audience, "if you're looking for finger pointing, don't look here. We are interested in problem solving." "If you want to find a scapegoat, you can, but it still won't work. We tried it with landlords, we tried it with oil and gas, we tried it with farmers, employers, and licensed firearm owners. "Every time government goes after a group in society, the problem gets worse." As part of his speech he also acknowledged the failure of the Treaty Principles Bill to pass into law. "Our partners abandoned us defining the Treaty Principles, so we lost the vote. "That's a shame, but there's something more important than winning the vote. We won the argument." It's a key policy that differentiates ACT from its coalition partners, and the party has indicated it will continue to try and pass it in some form. "It is now a matter of time before the Treaty Principles Bill or something like it passes," Seymour told the gathering. At the half-way mark of this term in government, Seymour said the party's focus from here would be "campaigning to keep the government and keep making it better." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
Peeni Henare to contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Labour
Labour MP Peeni Henare. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Labour MP Peeni Henare has been confirmed as his party's candidate for the Tamaki Makaurau by-election. The by-election was sparked by the death of Te Pati Maori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp last month. Henare previously held the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, before being beaten by Kemp in the 2023 election by a majority of just four votes over Henare in 2023, with a recount widening the margin. Henare had held the seat since 2014. "I am humbled and honoured to be selected to represent Labour in the upcoming by-election," Henare said. He said jobs, access to quality and affordable health services, affordable housing and relief from the rising cost of living were a top priority. "Tāmaki Makaurau is where I was born and is my home. I know the challenges that many whānau are facing. The cost of living is putting significant pressure on whānau just to put kai on the table," Henare said. "My focus is clear. To fight for real solutions so our people can flourish. "This means better paying jobs, making sure that when whānau are sick, they don't need to choose between kai and seeing the doctor and it means getting more whānau into warm dry and safe homes." Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Henare is the leader Tāmaki Makaurau needs. "He has the experience and track record to deliver real solutions for working families, rangatahi, kaumātua and our most vulnerable whānau," Hipkins said. Former Newshub broadcaster Oriini Kaipara has been chosen to contest the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is yet to announce the date for a by-election. However, the Speaker of the House published the notice of vacancy in the Gazette on Wednesday, meaning the Governor-General will issue a writ within 21 days of 9 July, instructing the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct the by-election. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
