Kia ora ,
Today we launched our Māori campaign, and I want to tell you why it matters to me.
One of the privileges of this job is that over the years I've been welcomed onto marae right across the country.
And each time I'm reminded that tikanga Māori isn't something separate from New Zealand life. It's part of who we are.
I'm a dad. And I think a lot about the New Zealand my kids will grow up in.
I want them to know our history. To understand ee Tiriti and why it matters. To hear and speak te reo Māori without thinking twice about it.
To grow up celebrating Matariki and knowing Māori culture is part of who we are.
Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi is part of that promise.
We have made progress over the years. Through settlements. The revival of te reo. Teaching our kids our own history in schools. Celebrating Matariki.
New Zealand is stronger for it.
Te Tiriti isn't something from the past that we put aside and honour once a year. It has to be part of the choices we make about our future.
It's not for any one politician to decide exactly what that future looks like. But we must play our part in building it.
We won't always get everything right. We will make mistakes. What matters is that we keep moving the story of Aotearoa forward.
That's what this campaign is about. And we're fighting to win all seven Māori electorates - with strong Māori voices in Parliament, grounded in their communities and fighting for the future their whānau deserve.
For me, that future comes down to some pretty basic things. A good job near home. A doctor you can afford to see. A warm, affordable home. Power bills you can pay. The things that make it possible to build a good life here.
Your job. Your health. Your home.
Today we took the next step, announcing a plan to back more Māori to develop skills, find jobs, work and earn more.
I want a New Zealand where a kid growing up anywhere in the country has every opportunity to build a good life and a future here.
Where everyone gets a fair shot. Where hard work gets you ahead.
And where we know our history, are proud of te reo, and honour te Tiriti.
That's the future we're fighting for.
And it's the promise we owe the generations who come after us - to leave them a country better for what we did.
Better starts now. Kia eke, ināianei.
Ngā mihi
Chris
