She's been an MP support person for the last five years – and is now looking to become an MP herself after being selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Bay of Plenty.

Pare Taikato says she is a proud mum, passionate about solving issues in her local community, and does flax weaving, or raranga when she has the time.

Spending time at the Port of Tauranga and in horticulture at a number of Māori land owning trusts, the Tauranga born and bred candidate says she is hoping to bring her 'diverse range” of life experiences to the table as an MP.

'Working [for the trusts] is a full time job. We grow kiwifruit, avocado, sheep and beef all through the Bay of Plenty region. At the same time I work part time as an MP support for Jan Tinetti in her electorate office.”

Bay of Plenty's top issues

Taikato says the top three issues facing the Bay of Plenty are infrastructure, housing and health.

She says the region's problems with infrastructure are not only related to roads, but also include 'affordable water services, power and all the things needed to stand up housing development”.

'There is still alot of focus on the Takitimu Northern Link however, this is a commuter residential issue. It is not a trade or freight in and out of the port issue.

'My position is to continue to support the work the Government is doing in those spaces, and to ask for more of it, and faster.”

In Taikato's current job providing MP support, she says many locals come to Jan Tinetti's office in Greerton and ask for more work to be done with housing.

'Yes in the Bay of Plenty [the issue] is the roads. But we also need the infrastructure for housing to be advanced and set up.”

Importance of horticulture

Taikato says the importance of horticulture in the Bay of Plenty is 'massive”.

'It is such a huge part of our regional and national economy, we are the home of Zespri's headquarters.

'However the extreme weather events we have been seeing recently pose a real threat to our industry. It is something that needs a lot of support. Some businesses balance sheets could be completely written off with one weather event. We've seen it impact growers in Hawke's Bay, and it's a massive industry for us.”

Taikato says with the ongoing threat of climate change and the proposed EPA ban on hi-cane, the Bay of Plenty horticulture industry needs to 'gear itself” towards what 'the next big thing” could be.

'We may need to think about what the next big thing could be. As growers we are now thinking about what could be grown indoors.

'Recently on TV I saw a vertical stacking system for strawberries. I know the cannabis referendum was close, but from a business perspective without any judgement on usage of cannabis, there is a huge potential there for a high value horticulture sector, and also tax income for a government.

'We should try not to be so insular in our thinking, and try to broaden our minds by having a global mentality.”

However, Taikato says right now the Government is focused is on recovering from the extreme weather events and rebuilding the economy, and she is 'not aware” of any plans for cannabis in the near future.

Being selected

Taikato says she decided to put her hand up to become the Labour candidate for the Bay of Plenty after discovering her passion for helping people achieve 'positive outcomes” in her job as MP support.

'I've always liked doing my best to help peolpe where they need it. Some people have come into our office saying they are sleeping in their car or they are about to be deported and need immigration asstistance.

'We also deal with simple things like someone saying ‘my neighbour has a tree with pigeons on it and they're pooing on my garage'. So there's a range of things which impact people, and it has been quite a humbling experience helping people.”

Although the Bay of Plenty seat is historically held by National, Taikato says she believes over time the community will be 'more open” to 'having an MP from the left of centre”.

'It might not happen this election, but I'm confident at some point there will be a shift.”

Taikato says she has been given some advice from her current boss, Education Minister Jan Tinetti.

'She has told me to be authentically myself, and to get out there and be the best I can. She's also told me for women in particular, we need to back ourselves, so thank you Minister, I will.”