UPDATE: Last night Maori Television’s Native Affairs revealed a new poll showing Kelvin Davis, Labour’s candidate for Te Tai Tokerau, just 1% behind incumbent Hone Harawira.
According to the Maori Television Reid Research poll, which had 500 respondents, the Mana party leader has 38% support, Mr Davis 37%, and the Maori Party's Te Hira Paenga a mere 9.4%.
Undecided voters accounted for 9.2% and non-voters, 5%.
Because Internet Mana is consistently polling under 5%, it’s considered crucial for Mr Harawira to win Te Tai Tokerau if the alliance is to have a presence in parliament. If he does, it’s likely three or four other MPS will ride to the Beehive on his coat-tails.
This is the third election in which Messrs Harawira and Davis have faced off. In 2011 Mr Harawira beat Mr Davis by 1165 votes, after his majority suffered a precipitous 5000 vote drop.
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EARLIER: The Labour candidate for Te Tai Tokerau, Kelvin Davis, says Mana Party leader Hone Harawira’s u-turn on the decriminalisation of cannabis indicates he’s no longer in charge of his party.
Mr Harawira has long had a staunch stance against drug use – including alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and legal highs – but his party recently reversed its position on pot.
It has been widely interpreted as evidence Mr Harawira has been forced to hold his nose and accept a decriminalisation policy as part of Mana’s deal with the Kim-Dotcom-funded-Laila Harre-led Internet Party, which has a detailed cannabis policy.
That’s a view Mr Davis shares.
“It shows he’s not pulling the strings in the Mana Party, Mana Internet Party – whatever they’re called – and that others are in charge,” Mr Davis says. “Despite all the evidence about the harm cannabis does, he is still prepared to compromise his values.”
Mr Davis is also critical of what he says is the way Mr Harawira has lowered the tone of the campaign.
“One of the things I don’t like is his acceptance of verbal abuse,” he says. “There was an instance where a young fellow got up and went a bit nuts at a candidates’ meeting last week and afterwards Hone was high fiving him.
“Sir James Henare, I believe, was a consummate politician who could express himself with eloquence and dignity but also forcefully and with humour – in both languages,” Mr Davis says. “Now we’ve just become this verbally abusive mob and we’ve lost the kind of honour and dignity that the likes of Sir James was a classic example of. “
Although Mr Davis and Mr Harawira largely agree on the main issues facing the Te Tai Tokerau electorate (poverty, housing and jobs) and even share common ground on cannabis reform (like Mr Harawira, the Labour candidate professes to “hate” drugs), Mr Davis says the choice between the two is stark.
“I’m about progress and he’s about protest.
“A lot of stuff that happened in our history has meant that Maori in Te Tai Tokerau are at the bottom end of all statistics,” Mr Davis says. “But what I say is that we’ve got to be successful despite our past rather than be victims because of it.”
Mr Davis says his contest with Mr Harawira is “as close as it can get.”
Tonight at 8.30pm Maori Television is screening (and streaming via maoritelevision.com) a Te Tai Tokerau electorate debate and, as part of its coverage, will reveal a new poll result.
“It’s only a small poll I have to say – 500 people – but yeah, it will be a goodie,” Mr Davis says.