The Green Party has selected Metiria Turei as their candidate for the Te Tai Tonga electorate in this year’s general election.
In the last two elections, Turei stood in the Dunedin North general electorate, having previously stood in Te Tai Tonga in 2005, and served as the Party’s Māori Affairs spokesperson from 2002 until 2015.
Turei says, "I’m really excited to be standing in Te Tai Tonga again this year, and to have the opportunity to lead our national Māori campaign in 2017, which is set to be our strongest ever.
Te Tai Tonga voters understand the importance of the Party Vote to get the best results under MMP, and so the seat has consistently been one of our strongest in the country.
In 2014 we came second in the Party Vote in the electorate, and I will be working to build on that even more, as it’s the Party Vote that will elect more Māori Green MPs and give us the numbers to Change the Government.
One of the things I am most proud of in my career is my leadership in bringing more Māori members and candidates into the Greens.
When I was elected as a Green MP in 2002 I was our first and only Māori MP, now a third of our caucus are Māori, and we will be standing more Māori candidates in this election than ever before.
I’ve loved standing in Dunedin North, but I think this is the right time to step aside and let new local talent come through.
I’m looking forward to engaging with whānau across Te Tai Tonga on the issues most important to our people; ending child poverty and homelessness, ensuring there are good paying jobs and protecting our natural environment.”