14 April 2014

Te Tai Tokerau Ignored as Mana Blinded by the Bling

The voice of Te Tai Tokerau is silent as the Mana Party makes a whole lot of noise about who it will form an alliance with.

As Mana falls apart because it is unsure whether it represents the poor or uber-rich, promises made by the party’s leader Hone Harawira at the 2011 by-election have not been kept, says Labour Te Tai Tokerau spokesperson Hadyn Edmonds.

Mr Edmonds says division within the ranks of Mana is emerging as it struggles with its rich vs. poor identity crises at a cost of those in Te Tai Tokerau.

“Labour's Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis remains firmly focused on the real needs of the region.

“The educational achievement of Maori students is still behind non-Maori in terms of success and Kelvin has a proven track record of making rapid gains in raising Maori achievement.

“There’s a housing shortage which has not been addressed and has become critical.

“Despite promises made by Hone Harawira at the by-election that it would be easy to create full employment by Christmas 2011 we are yet to see the results.

“It is time for creating real work opportunities in the north through strong economic development and not the false hope of more idle promises.

“Mana's mess is self-inflicted and the result of their leader going weak at the knees when he saw the dollar signs radiating in Kim Dotcom's smile,” says Mr Edmonds.

ENDS

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