Great news for Te Tai Tonga - Largest Electorate in the Country
Rahui Katene, Te Tai Tonga MP for the Maori Party
Friday 13 March 2009

Te Tai Tonga MP, Rahui Katene, is delighted that another goal negotiated in the relationship agreement with National appears to be making steady progress.

“The commitment we signed last year, included that appropriate resourcing would be available for us to meet the expectations of our constituency” said Mrs Katene.

“For an idea of the scope of the Maori electorate, my electorate, Te Tai Tonga, is 7000 times bigger than the area of Epsom!. Incredible I know – I did the maths several times as I couldn’t believe it myself!”

“In fact, at 161, 000 sq km, Te Tai Tonga is by far the largest electorate in the country –twenty general electorates fit within the general boundaries of my electorate”.

Te Tai Tonga comprises all of the South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, the Chatham Islands, and extends into the North Island to include Wellington and parts of the Hutt Valley as far north as Avalon.

"It takes two days to drive from one end of the electorate to the other, plus a ferry trip, and that's not including the Chatham Islands."

“Flights are limited – there’s no weekend flights to the Chathams for instance – and more times than not, the only way to get to where our people are, is to hop in the car and prepare for a long journey”.

“I’m lucky – in that all of my main centres have airports. But even then, it takes another hour of driving to get to Koukourarata (Port Levy) and even more to get to Okains Bay – the people I represent aren’t all clustered neatly inside one city block. I was elected to advocate on their behalf – but the current arrangement makes it almost impossible”.

“I’ve seen some crazy ideas, that suggest having another staff member to meet the needs of the electorate is some sort of conspiracy to hoodwink the public” said Mrs Katene.

“I don’t get that – what could be so wrong with having some more support to be able to respond to the needs of my constituency?”

“This is about communicating between Parliament and the public; it is about the electorate MP being able to serve their constituency and communities; it’s about being there for the people of Te Tai Tonga” said Mrs Katene. “From my perspective, this is exactly what the people of Te Tai Tonga have been wanting for years – I’m thrilled that finally they are being listened to”.

Mrs Katene is attending the opening of the Te Huringa / Turning Points: Pakeha Colonisation and Maori Empowerment exhibition in Dunedin. The exhibition features paintings from the collection of the Fletcher Trust and Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

ENDS

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