representing us

It could be argued that Hone Harawira, Mana Party leader ripping into Phil Goff the labour leader is a bit of a waste of time, but when Labour are contesting seats against Mana, it is fair and necessary and the points Hone has raised are the same ones I have wondered about.

NZH

"... many people remembered Phil Goff being a willing participant in the days when Labour was selling state assets and introducing GST "and I think that lack of credibility is coming back to haunt him now"

I know that goff has said he made a mistake dah dee dah - he did and it was a very, very big one IMO - selling those assets - apology and all made up now? - no! because the tenor of goff has not changed. Sure he may have regrets about this issue but he is still of the same mindset regarding many things. Hone relates it like this

"An old lady from down south told me that 'MANA is where Labour should be'" said Mr Harawira "and a lot of Labour voters are coming to MANA now because they don't see Phil Goff as the one to stand up to National"

Yep - look at the Mana lineup

"Annette Sykes - the best Maori rights lawyer in the country, John Minto - the 1981 anti-apartheid leader and worker's rights advocate, and Sue Bradford - the country's most well-known beneficiaries activist" "I'd put my crew up against any other team in the house, especially on the issues of Maori rights, human rights, workers rights and the rights of the poor"

and Hone sums up well with

Mr Harawira said that the choice was simple "the Labour leader who is leaving town or the MANA team, fresh for the battle and with the experience and the courage to do the business"

The courage to do the business and what is the business?

to oppose the National / Act / Maori Party government selling off state assets, and slashing funding in health, education and welfare.

It's a family business, a whānau business - everyone's welcome - join the waka.