Inga Tuigamala wants to be an MP.
INGA Tuigamala used to smash opponents on the footy field – now he wants to smash some Pacific Islanders dependence on the dole and DPB.
And the former rugby and league star has confirmed he would consider running for Parliament in 2011 if offered a spot on the National Party list.
Tuigamala, 40, and fellow All Black team-mate Michael Jones, 44, both joined prospective Prime Minister John Key on the campaign trail in the lead-up to the 2008 General Election.
Now I reckon Inga needs to think a little bit harder than just standing on the list, everyone knows how almost universally List MP’s are despised. Inga is a westie, and is not the guy for South Auckland. He is however just the guy to beat the man with the silent T in his name in New Lynn, absentee MP David Cun(t)liffe. National lost the party vote by 60 votes yet Cun(t)liffe won by 4000, because National didn’t try.
Tim Groser is doing a great job as a minister but is scarcely ever in New Lynn. Inga would be able to muster a massive team on the hustings, and run a disciplined professional campaign like National’s other Samoan MP, Sam Lotu-Iiga.
The word is that Inga is bloody sharp, and really adept at dealing with bureaucrats that are trying to create a talk-fest but not achieve anything.
Like many second generation New Zealanders of Pacific Island decent, Inga has benefited hugely from his parents work ethic, strong family and strong community. We all know his rugby career, but what is not so well known is he has many business interests as well.
You won’t catch this blogger saying that an MP must do their time on the back-benchers or they can’t do much in their first term. John Key and Steven Joyce are the answer to that sort of nonsense talk by other bloggers/repeaters who should know better.
If someone has good ideas then by all means get them into the parliament and let them have a crack. We have had enough of hand-wringing and fence-sitting when it comes to the issues surrounding Pacific Island and Maori participation in our economy. Perhaps we need the likes of Inga and Sam and Michael Jones to show the way forward like they did in their other careers on and off the field.
No longer too, can Labour rely on the Pacific Island community to be compliant voting blocs and then do nothing for them except make them more dependent on the state. We need break-through and these guys I believe can deliver that break-through.
