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Te Tai Hauauru By-election 2004The Te Tai Hauauru by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Hauauru, one of the Maori seats. The date set for the by-election was 10 July, 2004. It saw the re-election of Tariana Turia, a former MP for the Labour Party and now co-leader of the Maori Party. Turia had quit both Parliament and the Labour Party in protest over the government's position in the foreshore and seabed controversy. She contested the by-election as a member of the new Maori Party, which she is playing a leading role in establishing. None of the major parties contested the by-election, and Turia was always the overwhelming favourite to win. Perhaps due to the apparent inevitability of a win for Turia, only around 32% of Te Tai Hauauru voters cast ballots. Nominations for the by-election closed on June 15, 2004. Candidates were: - Tariana Turia (Maori Party)
- Peter Wakeman, a Labour Party member who stood as an independent.
- Dun Mihaka (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party), a veteran Maori activist best known for baring his buttocks to the Queen on her 1983 Royal Tour of New Zealand.
- Tahu Nepia, who stood as an independent, but represented the Ratana movement, with the intent of establishing an Independent Ratana Party to contest the next general election.
- Rusty Kane, an independent who campaigned on the platform that Maori seats should be abolished.
- David Bolton, independent.
If no candidates had been put forward to oppose Turia, she would have been declared the winner without a vote - this initially appeared possible, and given the cost of a by-election (estimated at almost half a million NZ dollars), many hoped that a vote could be avoided. The holding of a by-election was criticised by a number other parties. The Labour Party, which Turia was originally a member of (and which has traditionally dominated the Maori seats) has called the by-election "a waste of time and money", and a "sideshow". Labour has, however, stated that it will contest the seat in the next general election (scheduled for 2005). Results | b>Candidate | Party | align=center|Votes | align=center|Percentage | a href="/encyclopedia/Tariana-Turia" title="Tariana Turia">Tariana Turia | Maori Party | align=center|7,256 | align=center|92.74% | a href="/encyclopedia/Dun-Mihaka" title="Dun Mihaka">Dun Mihaka | Legalise Cannabis Party | align=center|197 | align=center|2.52% | ahu Nepia | Independent | align=center|183 | align=center|2.24% | eter Wakeman | Independent | align=center|80 | align=center|1.02% | avid Bolton | Independent | align=center|70 | align=center|0.89% | usty Kane | Independent | align=center|38 | align=center|0.49% |
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