The new Maori Party candidate for Te Tai Hauaruru says he will be campaigning hard to reach out to rangatahi and get more people under the age of 40 into the polling booths.
Chris McKenzie of Ngati Raukawa descent was selected by the party at a hui in Whanganui to replace Tariana Turia when she retires next year.
McKenzie says New Zealand is at a crisis of democracy where more and more young and Maori people are choosing not to vote. He says that if the party fails to connect with the relatively youthful Maori population then it has no place in government.
The former Ngati Raukawa Treaty negotiator says rangatahi (young people) will be a clear priority for his campaign in the lead up to the next general election.