Otago students registered on the Māori roll will elect the MP for Te Tai Tonga at the November 7th election. This MP will represent the whole South Island, plus the city of Wellington, in Parliament. After a six-year hiatus, the Green Party is back in the rohe, and are running a candidate in Te Tai Tonga. The candidate, Dr Lisa, popped down to Ōtepoti Dunedin for Polyfest, and sat down with Critic Te Ārohi. Lucky us! But who is Dr Lisa Te Morenga?
Dr Lisa used to teach here, at our very own Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, working as a Human Nutrition research fellow from 2010-2018. She has been in the party since 2009, when Metiria Turei was selected as co-leader, which told Te Morenga the Greens were strong on social justice. They were "more than just tree huggers,” she explained. “I'm a conservationist, but that wasn't enough for me." Lisa raised her tamariki in Ōtepoti, and her whānau still live here. She moved to Wellington in 2018, and now works as a Māori Health and Nutrition professor at Massey University.
Dr Lisa Te Morenga traces her whakapapa to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Uri o Hua, Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa – but not the principal South Island Iwi, Ngāi Tahu. She sees that this “could be a criticism”, and explained that she doesn't want to disrespect Ngāi Tahu, but pointed out that at least half the voters of Te Tai Tonga (Wellington) do not whakapapa to that iwi, and argued there were advantages to an MP who is not mana whenua. "I believe that the decisions about what is right on the whenua in our rohe should be made by mana whenua," but as that might differ between Whakatū (Nelson/Tasman Iwi) and Ngāi Tahu, she would go in as a "translator" for their aspirations in Parliament.
Great! Now with introductions out of the way, Dr Lisa got right down to business with Critic Te Ārohi, and yarned about why she thinks she, and her party, deserves your vote.
Busting the Supermarket Duopoly
The day before the interview, the Green Party announced a new election policy, aiming to establish a new, government-run supermarket. Lucky us for having a candidate to explain this fresh policy to us – hot off the press.
Dr Lisa said that the "cost of food is probably one of the biggest issues" right now, but quickly caveated that with, "to be honest, for me, the real problem is cost of housing." Still, because "we've hit peak capitalism [...] we cannot leave our resources in the hands of companies that become monopolies, [who] control wages, control prices". She hopes a government-owned supermarket would increase competition, break those monopolies, and reduce food prices.
Specifically, the Greens want to establish KiwiMart and require at least 120 stores and distribution capacity to be sold into public ownership, which they estimate will cost $2.8 billion dollars. When we asked how government ownership would bring prices down, Lisa argued that the increased competition would put pressure on prices to come down, ensure profit margins are not excessive, and that what profits remain go back to shareholders, "which are [the] taxpayers" of New Zealand. "That's the theory."
Unprompted, she added, "I do worry, though about our local producers because I know the supermarkets are already screwing the local producers." She mused that KiwiMart's low prices and excess profits, possibly implying a subsidy, could mitigate that problem.
Fees Free and Universal Student Allowance
Dr Lisa Te Morenga was keen to say that the Greens "want there to be no fees," and quickly added that students "should receive a universal student allowance." As a lecturer, she saw the "casualised work" students had to deal with, which affected lecture attendance. "And we want innovators and creatives in New Zealand. You should be able to go and think, and have time to do that and not be stressed out about paying your bills and being on call for work.”
What’s In and Out: Policy
Dr Lisa, a nutritionist by trade, wants school lunches “restored back to their former glory." The coalition government has made cost-saving cuts to the programme, and has had to “defend several mistakes”.
Picking an answer to her least favourite policy was a bit harder, with controversial current and proposed government policy in circulation. But what eventually came to mind was, "this attack, by ACT, supported by New Zealand First, and condoned by the National Government on spreading disinformation and fear amongst the public about Māori.” Dr Lisa described herself as “angry” that the current government “continue to promote this line that Māori have some unfair advantages that everyone else is missing out on in New Zealand."
That referred to the fact ACT are campaigning on scrapping preferential Māori and Pacific medicine school places, and on a "One Law for All policy", which would re-interpret Te Tiriti to affirm "the basic values that Parliament is sovereign, the rule of law is fundamental, and all New Zealanders are equal before the law."
Talking Polyfest
Otago's annual Polyfest was denied its regular funding grant from Creative New Zealand, leaving its future next year looking pretty shaky. Dr Lisa, who is here for Polyfest, said "Well, there won't be cuts, I guess, if we change the government." Straight to the point.
Dr Lisa vs The Other Political Parties
Under our current voting system, everyone has two votes. In theory, your candidate vote is for who you think would best represent your rohe, and your party vote is for the party you want to support in Parliament and, hopefully, form government. However, this election Te Pāti Māori are campaigning only for the candidate vote, and want party votes to go toward the Labour and Green parties. If Te Pāti Māori elect more candidates than their party votes would normally entitle them to, they'll be added as extra "overhang" seats to the fixed 120 ones.
It’s a quirk of the electoral laws, but Te Pāti Māori say this strategic voting is the only way to change the government. Critics say it might lead to the opposition parties governing despite winning fewer votes than the current government.
Dr Lisa Te Morenga has stuff to say, too. "You may have seen Te Pāti Māori and some other people out there trying to position us as a Pākehā party. But we are a Te Tiriti-led party, and always have been."
Tania Waikato, Green candidate for Waiaraki, has spoken about online comments that she and other wahine candidates were "kūpapa" for standing in Māori seats, and threatening Te Pāti Māori's strategy to change the government. All Lisa had to say was that "[we] don't want to do a negative campaign" and that to change the government, “we're really encouraging party vote Green”. According to her, the long-term vision for the Greens is to be the “main party in Parliament. But we're working towards that." Lisa reckons "we're the only party that can push Labour to be braver," and feels that "Labour, at the end of the day, they will appease the centre-white."
Asked for specific complaints about Labour, Dr Lisa conceded that they did deliver Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority and Smokefree Generation (both established in 2022, and dissolved by the current government in 2024). But she argued they "didn't go far enough" on Waitangi Tribunal recommendations, or on wealth inequality, which disproportionately affects Māori. "We wanted to see more decision making devolve to the communities, who deliver their health services."
Parting Words From Dr Lisa
The Green Party has a path to victory, but it is uphill. Their best candidate and party vote in a Māori seat (2017 and 2023 respectively) was here in Te Tai Tonga. However, they have never won a Māori electorate before. The Greens are clearly gunning to make history this year, as they are running candidates in five out of seven of the Māori seats, matching the record set in the 2017 election.
Dr Lisa says it's anyone's game here in Te Tai Tonga. Tākuta Ferris, elected the Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tonga, had a very public falling out with the party and left last November.
He is standing for re-election as an independent candidate. Challenging him is Labour's Mananui Ramsden, Te Pāti Māori's Lisa Marie Murch, the Greens' Lisa Te Morenga (two Lisas!) and Legalise Cannabis' Tania Hanare.
The Greens often only ask for your party vote, but Dr Lisa Te Morenga is campaigning for both your votes this election. Her most realistic chance at becoming an MP is winning Te Tai Tonga.
"For Māori students on the Māori roll," Lisa began, "they are in a position with the electorate [vote] with knowing whoever you vote for is a change of government. And I would encourage the students to investigate what we stand for." She believes that she has a "strong work ethic, and experience in evidence-led evaluation," and is "a nerd" who can "lean into a strong" team including strong wahine Māori like Tamatha Paul, Marama Davidson, and Hūhana Lyndon.
Lisa finished our conversation with: "if voters out there want a really strong Māori voice, I think they can't go past the Green Party."
We've covered a ton of ground, but we can't cover it all. For any party you’re considering voting for, make sure you do your background research to see what politicians are offering to fix before the polls open. Your vote matters. Enrol to vote.
