Take Back Te Tai Tokerau says Maori Party candidate, Waihoroi Shortland

Monday 10 October 2011

Tai Tokerau Candidate for the Maori Party, Waihoroi Shortland, is upbeat after the official launch of his campaign to reclaim the mana of Te Tai Tokerau.

"We've called our campaign Take Back Te Tai Tokerau" said Mr Shortland; "and that's exactly what we plan to do. Our people have had enough of all the rhetoric - they want to see their issues being carried through into action - and the Maori Party is the only one that can deliver on that call".

"It was an honour for me to launch my campaign founded on Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our policy delivers practical steps to see the Treaty live in our every day lives".

"What better place is there then Te Tai Tokerau, the birthplace of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, to lay out the foundations of our plan for the future?"

"The policy responds to the obvious need to apply Te Tiriti o Waitangi to every aspect of policy; of legislation; of the decisions made in Parliament; with a Parliamentary Commissioner established to help make this happen".

"There's an emphasis on real tautoko to our people - to support them in the next stage of taking their cases for the Takutai Moana through to Court; and in assisting claimants in finalising their treaty settlements".

"And it is a personal challenge for me to see through to fruition, the legacy of our kuia Aunty Saana Murray, and the other claimants that brought the flora and fauna claim to the Tribunal (WAI 262)."

"I'm on the road now, and this policy is part of the fuel that drives me on to ensure we take back the mana of Te Tai Tokerau".

Waihoroi Shortland launched his campaign at the City Rugby Football Club, Otangarei in Whangarei on Sunday 9 October.

ends

© Scoop Media