By Ally Mullord
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says he stands behind the party’s decision to put Solomon Tipene forward for Te Tai Tokerau, despite the Maori Party candidate's poor standing in the polls.
Latest poll results show Hone Harawira on 41 percent, only slightly ahead of Labour candidate Kelvin Davis on 40 percent. Only 15 percent of those polled said they would vote for Mr Tipene.
Dr Sharples says while it’s “disappointing” that Tipene is trailing in the polls, it’s also understandable.
“The infrastructure that was in place for the Maori Party up there was Hone's infrastructure… we're establishing new branches, new people, and we have a new candidate,” he says.
“I guess it's understandable that we should be behind.”
He says he “absolutely” stands by the decision to put Mr Tipene forward for the seat, and that the electorate selected him as their representative.
“We have a policy that the region... picks their candidate,” he says.
“They've picked Solomon.”
He says that while the by-election “might look like a two-horse race at this time” there’s still ten days for the “late starters”, and the Maori Party shouldn’t be discounted yet.
“We've got ten days left and we're working hard, so hopefully we can make a dent on this,” he says.
The Destiny Church conference last week hosted several politicians, including Dr Sharples, who says he attended for political reasons and was “disappointed that [the Maori Party] were sort of set up to be asked for money” by the church.
“It was important to go because I understood it was to be a political debate,” he says, “but that really didn't happen”.
Dr Sharples says Destiny Church’s “moral convictions” shouldn’t prevent them from receiving Government funding for their education and welfare initiatives.
"I think they should be treated just like every other organisation that applies,” he says.
“They've got a pretty good school going there, and they do do a lot of social work helping families, so that's how their requests have to be looked at - on their merit.”
Watch the video for the full interview
3 News