Congratulations to the 8,000 supporters in Tai Tokerau who voted for MANA representation in the recent elections. MANA committed to a one seat strategy in 2016 and we did well. Politics is politics.

Despite working consistently over the last 3 years in our rohe and really hard in the last year, with very little putea, MANA did not gain the Tai Tokerau seat.

However, the losses of MANA and Māori Party may galvanise complacent Māori to continue kōrero / action re “manamāorimotuhake ” and what shape and form that takes is yet to be seen and welcomed.

MANA has been part of a proud part of the evolution of the national history and tension for improvements for Māori . MANA is not a movement for sit on your arse philosophers or for people with a sense of entitlement with no responsibility or hands on practice.

Special thanks to the campaign teams -many hours planning and working after our day time jobs. MANA used free social media to reach our audiences across the country. Lots of creativity, laughter and debates in the wee hours.

We thank those who took on extra responsibilities to advance the campaign, who did what could be done with the minimum resources we had.

We resumed good relationship building with Māori Party- and in particular the trip to Waiāriki & Tauranga. Tukuroirangi Morgan Māori Party President and Hinurewa Te Hau from TaiTokerau Māori Party were always considerate to ensure we got our messaging right with each other in Tai Tokerau. That alone signalled a strong wish to work together as a partnership.

We are waiting to finalise meeting with  small sub committees that helped in the election campaign.

We also encourage MANA members who could not make the ui to send in your short evaluation – what can be done better to hilda@manataitokerau.org  Or,  like the feedback re decriminalising marijuana- send your comments to one person in your rohe and that person can foward to me.

MANA KAIKOHE began their campaign 3 years ago, financing their Kaikohe base by selling weekly sausage barbecues. Members have decided to keep the office open as a good hui space.

Special thanks to Eric and Mei Nelson for their dedication to Hone and MANA. Some of the memorable comments:
Nancy : Mihi atu ki te MANA Movement, kāhore ano a MANA ka tae ki tōna taumata. Me haere tonu a MANA –Māori, he whakakitenga. Hone your people tautoko you. When Māori turn- it’s a massive turn. Wait 3 years. I gave 2 ticks for MANA- I know we weren’t meant to , but at my age I can vote for who I want- so I voted 2 ticks for MANA because they worked for us and I knew them.
Tiare . Like Te Whakamaramatanga- a Movement never ends.
Ngāhuia and Charlie . Wow, learnt alot from listening to the kōrero of our old people and about politics, would like to help again.
Hokianga- we’re here for the next campaign when you want us.

MANA TE HIKU– Kaumātua, Kuia
Frances We gave our all- nothing left. Māori Party took biggest loss. Sorry for Te Ururoa.  Joe . Me haere tonu. Continue networking with Māori Party , the Ratana Movement and the Kingitanga. Hira Waiāriki and Tauranga reconnection- tino tangi harikoa- valuable – should have organised it earlier.  Tuku and Hinurewa strong from February until the elections. Marama great fighter.  Tina Will make some kete to fundraise for MANA.  Appreciate the Porter whānau freeing up Te Rana to help in the campaign. The people looked after her.  Thanks to all the fundraising we did 2014-2017 – helped fund our branches.
MANA Te Hiku – will continue to meet for projects when needed at MANA House in Kaitaia. Will keep a desk there for projects.

MANA TE HIKU- Campaign team
We rang 3000 people, some don’t vote, never vote, didn’t know how to vote.
Polling booth issues, told off for saying “kia ora.” Lack of tautoko for elderly, for young ones who didn’t know how to fill in the forms or how to vote, even though there were paid officials.
Prioritise measurable projects over 2 years.  E Toa awesome tool if everyone used it.
Facebook likes- don’t translate to votes. Continue to develop our rohe. Goodwill vs vote. Hone and all of us keep up the good mahi in Te Hiku.

MANA Rakipaewhenua,
Worked with what we had- times have changed over 3 years, voluntary work too hard on our pockets.  Unable to match the resources and machine that came to the North Shore. Did as much as we could.  Alot to consider for the next campaign- local leaders of MANA policies, youth involvement. 15 billboards stolen, destroyed or missing. First time that has ever happened.

MANA Waitākere
Lacked numbers on the ground, competed against a highly resourced team.
Glad to help with the bus and trips Tai Tokerau Tour, Taipā Rugby League, Omeka Pā, Tauranga & Waiāriki. MANA & Māori to continue – bring our people together.
MANA Māori Motuhake began a long time ago.

WEBMASTER Alan Armstrong – based in Rotorua, 83 years old.
Website koha raised almost $6,000 Website pages were updated with policy and media releases as they happened and those were re-posted to several Facebook pages.
Sent out frequent email blasts during the campaign to every supporter whose address we had.

MANA Whāngarei

We are active in our communities , lost contact with each other, all just trying to survive. Became involved last 8 weeks  in the campaign but Whangarei worked hard. Everyone donated time and items from their homes to furnish the office.  Got lots of sponsors to pay for power, internet costs and petrol vouchers.  Mehara a great loss for MANA- she set the standard for rangatahi ,she  was involved at MANA Exec level since she was 16- making decisions, setting up our social media.

Mamae. Many uneducated re voting, thought that enrolments were their votes.  Our people whakamā in the polling booths, get intimidated by Pākeha. We should have kaiāwhina in the polling booths just to help fill out a form and to explain the voting procedure. Some need readers.  90% of the booths are schools- recommend one classroom be for Māori voters- positive climate.

People hōhā with National- just wanted change- huri katoa ki a Labour. Major when a government minister is tossed out.  Our biggest issue in Whāngarei is wai- Porotī.   Homelessness now in Kamo, we are helping out where we can, taking soup.

​A MANA NATIONAL HUI is being called at Te Puna Hauora Rakipaewhenua 10-3 pm November 4th. Koha. MANA branches and members are encouraged to send a representative to the hui. MANA supporters are welcome.  There are 3-4 options to consider – Where to from here?  The kōrero from the hui, not external media will determine our next action for MANA.

Other discussions with Māori Party- can take place after they have held their own hui.

Pēhea ana a Hone?
Hone is well. He had to look after the Campaign Manager who took a week to get over it. Ka haere tonu a Hone. He is finalising some details on some projects for the Far North. Next week Hone flies to Hobart to receive an international award for tobacco control.  There is much to consider about the future of MANA- so will await the outcome of all the hui.
But we will all take that in our stride.