Marama Mere-Ana Davidson (née Paratene; born 1973) is a New Zealand politician who entered the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
in 2015 as a representative of the
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...
, of which she is the
female co-leader.
In October 2020, the Green Party signed a cooperation agreement to support a
Labour-led government. Davidson became the Minister outside Cabinet for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, as well as holding the Associate Housing portfolio.
Early life and education
Davidson was born in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and is of
Ngāti Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zeala ...
,
Te Rarawa
Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island.
Rūnanga and marae
Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae:
*Korou Kore Marae, '' Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ng ...
, and
Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...
descent.
Her father is the actor
Rawiri Paratene. Both her parents were
Māori language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
campaigners in the 1970s.
During her youth, the family moved a lot; Davidson started school in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, but subsequently lived in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
and
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. At age nine, her family moved to
Whirinaki in the
Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She started her degree in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
and finished it in Auckland, from where she graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
.
She also holds a Graduate Diploma in International Diplomacy for Indigenous Studies through
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is a wānanga (indigenous tertiary education provider) in based in Whakatāne, New Zealand, established in 1991 by Ngāti Awa.
Faculty
* Taiarahia Black
* Mera Lee-Penehira
* Te Kani Kingi
* Ron Taiapa
See ...
.
Professional career and community engagement
Davidson worked for the
Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
from 2003 to 2012.
She has worked part-time for Breastfeeding New Zealand. She was a 'Think Tank Member' for the
Owen Glenn
Sir Owen George Glenn (born 19 February 1940) is an Indian-New Zealand expatriate businessman and philanthropist, who supports humanitarian causes worldwide through his family charity.
Early life
Born in Calcutta, British India
The prov ...
Inquiry on Child Abuse and Domestic Violence. She is a founding member of Te Wharepora Hou Māori Women's Collective.
Political career
Fifth National Government, 2013–2017
Davidson is an environmentalist and human rights advocate.
In June 2013 she stood for the Greens in the
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election, where she came fourth with 11.15% of the vote.
At the
2014 election she stood in the electorate. She was ranked 15th on the Greens party list and entered Parliament in 2015 with the resignation of
Russel Norman
Russel William Norman (born 2 June 1967) is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party. Norman resigned as an MP in October 2015 to work as Executive Director of Greenpeace Aote ...
.
Davidson has called for liberalisation of abortion law, in addition to better sex education, improved access to contraception, and more support for adoption, having had an abortion as a teenager.
During the
2017 general election, Davidson was ranked second in the Green Party's final candidate list in April 2017. Following the release of the full election results on 7 October, Davidson was reinstated as a list Member of Parliament. The Green Party won 6.3 percent of the votes and eight seats.
Sixth Labour Government, 2017–present
Following the resignation of
Metiria Turei
Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei (born 1970) is a New Zealand academic and a former New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2017 and the female co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 to 2017 ...
as co-leader of the Green Party in 2017, Davidson was poised as a possible contender for the co-leadership. On 4 February 2018, Davidson officially announced her candidacy for co-leader,
and on 8 April won the
female co-leadership election, defeating fellow MP
Julie Anne Genter
Julie Anne Genter (; born 17 December 1979) is an American-born New Zealand politician who is a member of the House of Representatives representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. She served as the Minister for Women, Associate Ministe ...
who also contested the position.
After summing the co-leadership of the Greens, Marama stated that the Greens' responsibility was to push the
Labour-led coalition government in a progressive direction including the abolition of letting fees on rental homes.
On 8 July 2018, Davidson reported that she had received rape and death threats against her and her children on social media after tweeting support for the
Mayor of Auckland
The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amalga ...
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
's decision to ban two
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
far right speakers
Lauren Southern
Lauren Cherie Southern (born 16 June 1995) is a Canadian alt-right YouTuber, political activist and commentator. In 2015, Southern ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the Canadian federal election. Southern worked for Rebel Media until M ...
and
Stefan Molyneux from
Auckland Council
Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...
facilities as part of a speaking tour in August 2018.
In response to this, Davidson stated during an anti-racism rally, attended by families with children, that New Zealand needs to reclaim the word "cunt".
In 25 March 2020, Davidson became a member of the
Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considered the government's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
During the
2020 general election on 17 October, Davidson was re-elected to Parliament on the party list. Davidson also contested
Tāmaki Makaurau
Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first formed for the . The electorate covers the Auckland area and was first held by Labour ...
, coming third place behind Labour incumbent
Peeni Henare
Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare () is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who has been a member of the New Zealand parliament for the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate since the 2014 general election.
Family
Henare is a great grandson of Ta ...
and the Māori Party's candidate
John Tamihere
John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet minister in the Labour Party from August 2002 to ...
. The Greens captured 7.9% of the popular vote (226,754).
Following prolonged negotiations between the Greens and Labour which concluded in a "cooperation" agreement on 31 October 2020, Davidson was designated as the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and also became
Associate Minister of Housing with responsibility for homelessness.
Davidson was challenged in May 2021 by the National and Act parties for attending and speaking at a
Mongrel Mob
The Mongrel Mob (sometimes self-labelled as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or colloquially known as the Mob) is an organised street gang and Prison gang based in New Zealand. With a network of more than thirty chapters throughout the country and additio ...
gathering at the Waikato Chapters headquarters in Hamilton.
Davidson attended the gathering with fellow Green MP
Elizabeth Kerekere
Elizabeth Anne Kerekere (born ) is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Green Party on 5 May 2023, expressing her intention to remain i ...
and the Human Rights Commissioner
Paul Hunt.
The gathering discussed human rights, justice and racism and Davidson defended attending and speaking at the gathering saying in a tweet that it was a "fabulous community event for justice".
Davidson also defended attending the gathering saying that it is vital that a range of communities are engaged with and tweeting that gangs were part of the "diverse communities, who have been subject to enduring and systemic racism".
Personal life and family
Marama Davidson is married to Paul Davidson, with whom she has six children; their last child was born in 2008. Davidson is a qualified aerobics instructor and used to teach part-time classes at
Les Mills International
Phillip Mills (born 13 February 1955 in Auckland) is a former track and field athlete and businessman from New Zealand. He is the founder, executive director, and former chief executive of Les Mills International and a founder of Pure Advantag ...
in order to support her children and university studies.
In late June 2018, Davidson disclosed that she had been sexually abused as an eight-year-old child by a distant relative during a Speaking Secrets podcast, a co-production by ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'' and
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio, talk-radio network operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, NZME Radio. It is available in almost every media market, radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in m ...
. During the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
's formal apology to homosexual men convicted of consensual acts before the passage of the
Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, Davidson acknowledged that her uncle had assaulted a gay man after reacting badly to his proposition. Her uncle was subsequently convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned when the victim fell into
Wellington Harbour and drowned. Davidson apologised on behalf of her late uncle to the
LGBT community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...
in New Zealand.
Political views and positions
Donald Trump
On 5 June 2020, Davidson and fellow Greens Co-Leader
James Shaw described
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
as a racist in response to a question fielded by press gallery journalists following the
protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
triggered by the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
in late May.
Israel-Palestine
In October 2016, Davidson took part in the
Women's Boat to Gaza, which intended to highlight the Israeli blockade of the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. Other passengers aboard included the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
laureate
Mairead Maguire
Mairead MaguireFairmichael, p. 28: "Mairead Corrigan, now Mairead Maguire, married her former brother-in-law, Jackie Maguire, and they have two children of their own as well as three by Jackie's previous marriage to Ann Maguire." (born 27 Januar ...
and retired
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Ann Wright
Mary Ann Wright (born 1947) is a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to ...
. On 5 October, the Women's Peace Flotilla's ship ''Zaytouna Oliva'' was intercepted by the
Israeli Navy
The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...
. In response to the boarding of the Women's Peace Flotilla, Green Party co-leader
Metiria Turei
Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei (born 1970) is a New Zealand academic and a former New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2017 and the female co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 to 2017 ...
called on the Israeli authorities to release Davidson and other activists, and to end the blockade of Gaza.
On 11 May 2021, she and 16 other New Zealand Members of Parliament donned
keffiyeh to mark World Keffiyeh Day.
References
External links
Green Party profileProfile at New Zealand Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Marama
1973 births
Living people
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand co-leaders
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand list MPs
New Zealand activists
New Zealand women activists
Ngāti Porou people
Ngāpuhi people
New Zealand Māori women
Māori MPs
University of Auckland alumni
University of Waikato alumni
Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
People from Auckland
21st-century New Zealand politicians
21st-century New Zealand women politicians
Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election
Government ministers of New Zealand
Women government ministers of New Zealand