Around 500 Labour Party supporters travelled to Palmerston North for the party's annual conference. Te Kāea was the only media granted access to last night’s celebration hosted by Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe, but it was Labour’s list of new blood on show.
Two events took place this weekend and the first focused on the elections for Labour’s Kaunihera Māori. Through the ranks emerged Te Kaunihera Māori’s new elected chair, Mr Shanan Halbert.
“You see a very fresh group of faces amongst the new executive, there's some lawyers, broadcasters, most of all we reflect the diversity and youth we want to see in Te Rōpu Reipa” says Mr Halbert.
The second event was more about entertainment and through karaoke the hunt for a superstar had begun. Host Mr Rurawhe had some advice for those who took stage.
“Timing, gotta be in tune and also interaction with the crowd, and also the audience is most important” says Mr Rurawhe.
This advice could also be applied to the political stage. The Māori caucus understood their audience in the last election and as a result took six of the seven Māori seats.
According to Labour supporter Rudy Taylor, there are future prospects of a new Māori leader, “Oh well same like Obama, no one would think a darky would become a president.”
All results will be announced tomorrow at the final day of the conference.