Nā Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki tēnei atikara.
At home in her Wellington garden, Green Party candidate Lisa Te Morenga is planting the seed for her campaign to represent Te Tai Tonga.
Although she has been a member of the Green Party for 17 years, Te Morenga says the actions of the current Government motivated her to take a more active role in politics.
“I've been a quiet member for a long time, but after the last election when we got this really scary government that is overturning so many of the gains we've achieved for Māori, I didn't want to sit by anymore,” she said.
KO TE TAI TONGA TE KĀINGA RUA.
With strong whakapapa ties to Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Te Uri o Hau, and Ngāti Whātua Ki Ōrākei, Lisa Te Morenga has spent more than 30 years living in Te Tai Tonga. She is a Professor at Massey University in Wellington, specialising in nutrition and Māori health, and says her work has given her a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Māori communities.
“It certainly feels like home for me, even though I don't whakapapa on my Māori side to Te Tai Tonga,” she said. “I raised my children in Dunedin while completing my PhD at the University of Otago, and I have strong connections with people throughout the electorate.”
She says her connection to Te Tai Tonga is strengthened through her involvement with all five universities represented across the electorate. Te Morenga studied at the University of Otago, the University of Canterbury, and Lincoln University, before going on to work at Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University.
MAI I TE WHARE WĀNANGA KI TE WHARE PĀREMATA.
Te Morenga says the direction of the current Government has convinced her to make the move from academia to Parliament.
“As the Green Party, we will be a really strong voice for Māori, pushing back against many of the regressive changes this Government has made,” she said.
Among the party’s priorities, she says, are restoring Te Aka Whai Ora, repealing fast-track legislation, and strengthening Māori participation in decision-making processes. The Green Party is expected to release its policy platform later this month.
Te Morenga hopes the policies will resonate with Māori voters and encourage them to remain on the Māori roll rather than switch to the general roll.
“If I was your candidate in Te Tai Tonga, with the support of the Green Party and the connections I already have in the community, I believe I would be a strong representative,” she said. “I know how to work hard, I know how to read policy, and I know how to interpret policy.”
The issues facing Te Tai Tonga remain her driving force as she seeks to become the electorate’s voice in Parliament following November’s election.
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E noho ana te kaitono o Te Pāti Kākāriki, a Lisa Te Morenga ki tōna māra kei Te Whanganui-a-Tara, e whakatō ana i te kākano o tōna tāwhaiwhainga pōtitanga hei māngai mō Te Tai Tonga.
Ahakoa kua noho ia hei mema mō te pāti mō ngā tau 27, nā ngā āhuatanga o te kāwanatanga i whakahihiko i a ia kia whai tūranga ki te ao tōrangapū.
“I've been a quiet member for a long time, but after the last election when we got this really scary government that is overturning so many of the gains we've achieved for Māori, I didn't want to sit by anymore,” hei tāna.
KO TE TAI TONGA TE KĀINGA RUA.
He tātai whakapapa, he tātai hononga ki roto o Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Te Uri o Hau me Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei heoi, neke atu i te 30 tau ia e noho ana ki Te Tai Tonga. He ahorangi ki Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa me tōna aronga ki te taioranga kai me te hauora Māori. E ai ki a Te Morenga, nā ēnei whēakoranga kua mārama kehokeho e ia i ngā wero me ngā āheinga kei ngā ringaringa o ngā hapori Māori.
“It certainly feels like home for me, even though I don't whakapapa on my Māori side to Te Tai Tonga,” hei tāna. “I raised my children in Dunedin while completing my PhD at the University of Otago, and I have strong connections with people throughout the electorate.”
Kua kaha ake ōna hononga ki Te Tai Tonga mā roto mai i ōna mahi ki ngā whare wānanga huri noa i te rohe pōti. I kuraina ia ki ngā whare wānanga o Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha me Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki, ka mutu, i whai tūranga ia hei kaimahi ki Te Herenga Waka me Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.
MAI I TE WHARE WĀNANGA KI TE WHARE PĀREMATA.
Hei tā Te Morunga, ko te aronga o te kāwanatanga i whakatau te whakaaro kia hūnuku mai i te whare whare wānanga ki te whare pāremata.
“As the Green Party, we will be a really strong voice for Māori, pushing back against many of the regressive changes this Government has made,” hei tāna.
Hei tāpiri atu ki ngā kaupapa here o te pāti, he hiahia nō ratou ki te whakaora i Te Aka Whai Ora, te whakakore i ngā kaupapa fast track me te whakakaha ake i a Ngāi Māori me ngā tūkanga whakatau. Ka whakarewaina e Te Pāti Kākāriki i ngā kaupapa here hei te mutunga o tēnei marama.
Me te manako hoki ka noho tōiriiri ēnei kaupapa here i ngā kaipōti Māori, ka mutu, ko te akiaki i a rātou ki te noho ki te rārangi Māori, kia kaua e whakawhiti ki te rārangi general.
“If I was your candidate in Te Tai Tonga, with the support of the Green Party and the connections I already have in the community, I believe I would be a strong representative,” hei tāna. “I know how to work hard, I know how to read policy, and I know how to interpret policy.”
Ko ngā raru o Te Tai Tonga ka noho mātāmua mōna me tana hiahia kia whai wāhi mai hei reo mō te rohe pōti ki Pāremata hei tēnei pōtitanga.