MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times
One hundred days into his new job, Potaka talked about some surprising challenges so far.
When new member of National’s caucus, Tama Potaka, was elected, he didn’t expect to face the “wettest day ever” in his former residencenor a deadly one cyclone that saw the sitting of parliament, and his first during a maiden speech, postponed.
Given quickly responsibility in the National caucus in the form of the Māori development portfolio and associated housing, Potaka says he has enjoyed his first few months in the house, but “decision making takes longer”.
He was accustomed to the speed of doing business and said that setting up his parliamentary and electoral offices and hiring staff has so far taken up some of his time and as a first time politician he was getting used to it.
“It’s harder than I thought it would be.
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“There are a few more layers of decision-making than I’m used to; to sort out staff, to sort out offices, papers and how they come to you before visiting the house and other places. I also had to deal with a little birthday party for JC (Jesus Christ) called Christmas,” he said.
Staffing problems and the relationship he was able to maintain with the parliamentary services were one of the reasons why former MP for Hamilton West, Gaurav Sharma, decided to leave his party membership and ultimately his seat. thereby winning the Potaka by-election.
After a hundred days of work, Potaka recalls that the first hurdle to overcome was reaching Wellington in an attempt to deliver his maiden speech. On February 19, he and colleague Sam Uffindeldrove the 450 km to the capital to attend a meeting that was canceled due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Just as we were about to go to work, to Wellington, we had the floods, and then we had the cyclone, all of those things have worked as a little delay… We are going as a nation, and also looking as taxpayers how you can support the people of those locations who lived through these tragic circumstances. A-la what happened to Christchurch.
Tom Lee/Stuff
Potaka, an Ironman, said crime was still a major focus of his, in addition to housing.
Hamilton West continued to deal with other “emergencies”, albeit those of a social nature.
Acknowledging that the examples fall outside his electorate, Potaka said: “You cannot go down River road now enter a dairy that has not been threatened with a knife or a gun or any other point in the past three months.
When asked what he has done about the anecdotally high incidences of particularly serious retail crime in his first 100 days, Potaka said he worked with his party’s police spokesman to hold the government accountable and “ensure that there is an awareness of real honest data on ram raids, robberies and crime.”
With the National party eager to run candidate candidates in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Hauāuru, Potaka said more can be expected for the party in addition to the existing Māori candidates. However, he said many potential candidates were already in demanding and fulfilling positions in other industries.
MARK TAYLOR / STUFF
Tama Potaka speaks in Hamilton West the day after winning the midterm elections.
“Many of my colleagues, a very talented group of people, work in iwi, they work in private matters, they work in charities, they are already driven to serve their communities… I talk to people from time to time, it would be now being a late run, there are not many selections left for National, but there are an increasing number of candidates who are Māori and Pasifika.
Potaka has also been active on the ground in the electorate, he says. Organizing constituency clinics on alternate days in the non-sitting weeks of parliament.
In Wellington he says that Chris Bishop has taken him under his wing. Natural partners received their complementary housing portfolios. His highlight so far? The girl speech in which he could make clear his parliamentary motives.
“Having the opportunity to present my maiden speech. Because what that did is provide some insight into the drivers or the values, the tikanga in my life. It’s not that I came here because I did something. I came here with the support of hundreds of people and the values, protocols and principles they instilled in me are now being applied in the house… What a great job!”