Oriini Kaipara to contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election
Former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara has been chosen to contest the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori.
Kaipara was selected at a behind-closed-doors hui at Hoani Waititi Marae tonight.
The by-election has been triggered by the death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, who died suddenly two weeks ago. She had been battling kidney disease.
Te Pāti Māori said Kaipara (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi) had dedicated decades amplifying the stories of Māori communities, holding prime ministers to account and chairing nationally televised Māori electorate debates.
The party co-leaders said she would bring a lifetime of leadership and advocacy, and that she understood the deep connection between whakapapa and politics.
"Her voice is exactly what Tāmaki needs to honour the memory of Takutai Moana and to ensure Māori voices are heard loud and clear in Parliament," said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
Kaipara said she was pledging to tackle the cost of living crisis facing Tāmaki whānau, with a focus on housing, youth homelessness, and skyrocketing food bills.
"Māori are being attacked left, right and centre for purely existing. It's vile and it's not good enough," she said.
"My role now is to move from covering the story to changing it."
She said if elected, her key priorities would be securing mana whenua first right of refusal on significant private land, driving kaupapa Māori housing solutions to eliminate rangatahi houselessness, and expending investment in kaupapa Māori education models such as Te Aho Matua.
Te Kou o Rehua Panapa, a former youth worker at Manurewa Marae had also sought the nomination.
Hīkoi leader Eru Kapa-Kingi had earlier ruled out running.
Kaipara has most recently worked as Pouwhiringa Māori culture lead for the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
In 2021, she became the first wāhine Māori with moko kauae to present a mainstream news bulletin, when she fronted Newshub Live at 6pm.
Labour's Peeni Henare previously held the Tāmaki Makaurau seat before being beaten by Kemp in the 2023 election by a slim margin of 42 votes. Henare had held the seat since 2014.
RNZ understands Labour's internal nomination process is under way and will close on Friday.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is yet to announce the date for a by-election.
However, the Speaker of the House published the notice of vacancy in the Gazette yesterday, meaning the Governor-General will issue a writ within 21 days of July 9, instructing the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct the by-election.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
11 minutes ago
- Scoop
Coalition Of Colonisers War On Trans Rights Is Colonial Violence
Te Pāti Māori stands firm in upholding mana motuhake over our bodies, identities, and spaces. We reject unequivocally the Crown's latest attempt to erase trans inclusion from sport. It is not only discriminatory, it is a direct continuation of colonial gender imposition. 'We reject all policies that seek to exclude our rainbow whānau from public life including sport' said Te Pāti Māori Co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi demands equity for all tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti. Government sport codes must reflect Tiriti justice not weaponised 'fairness'. Rainbow inclusion is a human right.' 'Our whakapapa includes ira tāne, ira wāhine, and ira atua. Our duty is to uphold mana for all not to replicate the violence of Western binary systems' added Co-leader Rawiri Waititi. 'This is nothing more than dog-whistle politics a deliberate attempt to inflame colonial fear and hatred instead of fostering understanding, education, and aroha within our communities.' Te Pāti Māori affirms that the existence, safety, and participation of our Rainbow and Takatāpui whānau are non-negotiable. We will always stand to protect the mana, rights, and whakapapa of our people.
Otago Daily Times
11 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Same-day election enrolments to be scrapped
The legislation sets a requirement of 12 days advance voting at each election. Photo: NZ ELECTORAL COMMISSION Same-day enrolment for elections is set to be scrapped, with the government announcing legislation to overhaul electoral laws it says have become unsustainable. Previously, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said late enrolments, while well intentioned, were resource intensive and had placed too much strain on the system. "The final vote count used to take two weeks, last election it took three," he said. "If we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections. The 20-day timeframe for a final result will likely already be challenging to achieve at the next election without changes." Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says late enrolments, while well intentioned, are resource intensive and has placed too much strain on the system. Photo: RNZ The government has agreed to close enrolment before advance voting begins, with people needing to enrol or update their details by midnight on the Sunday before advance voting starts on the Monday morning (in other words, 13 days before election day). The legislation sets a requirement of 12 days advance voting at each election, and the changes would mean special vote processing could get under way sooner. The Electoral Amendment Bill contains some other changes, including the introduction of automatic enrolment updates so the Electoral Commission can update a person's address directly following a data match. The process would not be used for new enrolments to allow for Māori to choose whether to enrol on the general roll or Māori roll when they first enrol. Postal requirements for enrolment will be removed to acknowledge the decline of postal services. Free food, drink or entertainment within 100m of a voting place will be made an offence, punishable with a fine of $10,000. "There has been some confusion in the past around what is and isn't treating. This will make the rules crystal clear," Goldsmith said. A ban on prisoner voting, which the government had already announced, would also be included in the bill. In addition, the donation threshold for reporting the names of donors will be adjusted from $5000 to $6000 to account for inflation.
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
NZ's largest teachers' union taking Government to court over resource teacher cuts
Education Minister Erica Stanford announced consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The NZEI Te Riu Roa claims she had already decided to cut the services. Photo / Mark Mitchell Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. 24 Jul, 2025 01:51 AM 2 mins to read NZ's largest teachers' union taking Government to court over resource teacher cuts Education Minister Erica Stanford announced consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The NZEI Te Riu Roa claims she had already decided to cut the services. Photo / Mark Mitchell New Zealand's largest teachers' union is taking the Government to court over recent changes to funding resource teachers. Resource teachers work alongside teachers to help students with learning and behaviour difficulties. The latest Budget, in May, confirmed cuts to some resource teacher services. NZEI Te Riu Roa claims Education Minister Erica Stanford had already decided to scrap the services before announcing consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The union said it had filed for a judicial review in the High Court at Wellington this morning.
