Kelvin Davis
MP for Te Tai Tokerau
Māori Development
Corrections

MEDIA STATEMENT

20 February 2016

No mana for Māori

A vote for the Mana Māori deal is a vote for National, says Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson Kelvin Davis.

“They’re welcome to each other. It’s only a matter of time before Māori work out there’s no mana in this deal.

“After nine years of this National Government, propped up by the Māori party, there’s not a lot to brag about. Māori are more likely to be overweight, depressed, homeless, incarcerated and uneducated according to these disturbing statistics produced under National’s watch.

“The Kiwi quarter acre dream is more of a nightmare as the housing crisis hits Māori hard. Māori are five times more likely to be homeless than Pākeha. Māori home ownership is 28 per cent compared with 56.8 per cent for Pākeha.

“The job market isn’t delivering for Māori either.

“The total number of Māori aged 15-24 not in employment, education or training has increased from 23,300 to 27,900. And it gets worse. Since National has been in office, the gap in median weekly earnings between Māori and Pākeha has grown 47 per cent.

“What’s even worse is the state of Māori health. Māori adults are 1.5 times more likely to have anxiety or depressive disorders. Māori adults are also 1.6 times more likely to have missed out on seeing their GP because they couldn’t afford it, in the last 12 months. Māori adults are 1.7 times more likely to be obese.

“These statistics paint a very poor picture of our people. This is what the Māori party has contributed to through its support plan with the National party.

“There’s no mana for Māori who support a waka that’s shackled to the National Party.

“Labour won six of the seven Māori seats at the last election. Māori deserve more support than what the Nats and their hopeless helpers have delivered,” says Kelvin Davis.

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