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Maori politics was at the forefront and at the center of the first electoral debate of the leaders of the minor parties.
The Newshub Powerbrokers debate, featuring Marama Davidson of the Greens, David Seymour of ACT, John Tamihere of the Māori Party and Winston Peters of NZ First, was recorded Thursday night in Auckland, although it will not air until Saturday morning. .
Maori politics featured prominently, and all four candidates were Maori, although Tamihere joked after the debate that Seymour was not a “practicing Maori” like him.
But more than the questions themselves, it was Tamihere’s presence on stage that forced the debate to focus on Maori issues. Tamihere dominated the debate, taking the questions where he wanted them to go, regardless of the intentions of other people on stage.
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He spoke in defense of the occupants of the land in Ihumātao.
“In 1840 the Treaty was signed, in 1863 that land was stolen. If someone steals something, you give it back, ”said Tamihere.
“They are not squatters, they are natives; They are not squatters, they are mana whenua ”.
The debates are often remembered for witty lines and Tamihere had a few, targeting primarily Seymour and Peters.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
John Tamihere Winston Peters at the Newshub Powerbrokers debate
“He is the recipient of the burning house,” he said of Seymour’s extraordinarily high polls, which many people suspect is a symptom of National’s vote collapse.
“Judith is there to save the furniture, what she doesn’t understand is that David is outside carrying it,” she said.
“It’s okay to take from the greedy and give to the needy,” was his take on taxes.
Seymour had his moments too. He responded to Tamihere’s accusation that he had been an architect of the neoliberal economic revolution in the 1980s, saying he was in kindergarten at the time.
He joked that the only thing he had in common with the Greens was that they were the only party, other than his, currently in Parliament that had not been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office.
RICKY WILSON
Marama Davidson in the Newshub Powerbrokers debate
Davidson also had a good night. This is his first pick as co-leader of the Greens, but he took the mantle well. There was a chance that, with the Maori Party operating on a very similar platform to the Greens, a populist like Tamihere would suck in Davidson’s oxygen, but she would not allow it.
After the debate she spoke warmly of the resurgence of the voice of the Maori Party, although she was less sure about Tamihere, noting her history of racy racist and sexist comments.
When asked what was the worst thing he had done during the term, Seymour answered the “pasodoble”, a reference to his brief stint as a famous dancer.
Davidson replied that the worst thing he had done that quarter was watch Seymour do the paso doble, to much applause.
During the commercial break, Davidson and Seymour joked about his career as a dancer, while Tamihere talked to Peters about the glass of apple juice Peters was drinking.
“Is that whiskey?” Tamihere said.
“It’s apple juice, it’s apple juice, okay, right before I go to write anything, it’s apple juice,” Peters said, holding his glass up to survey the room full of journalists and media personalities.
“Oh, and that cigarette was cannabis,” Tamihere said, referring to a time earlier in the campaign when Peters was quit smoking at the University of Otago.
