Nanaia Mahuta

Nanaia Cybele Mahuta (born 21 August 1970) is a New Zealand politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hauraki-Waikato and serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Sixth Labour Government since 2020. She is also the Minister of Local Government, and served as Minister for Māori Development from 2017 to 2020. A political veteran, Mahuta has had a long and influential career in the Labour Party, and has served as a Member of Parliament continuously since 27 November 1999. In 2018, she was listed as one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Mahuta was born into Māori royalty in Auckland, the daughter of Sir Robert Mahuta. Affiliated to Ngāti Mahuta, her father was the elder brother of Te Atairangikaahu, and her first cousin is current Māori monarch Kiingi Tūheitia. Mahuta joined the Labour Party at the request of retiring Western Maori MP Koro Wētere. Mahuta was elected as one of the first New Zealand list MPs. She was the youngest member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1999 until 2002. In 2004, she joined Tariana Turia in voting against the first reading of her party's controversial foreshore and seabed legislation, but did not secede from Labour to the nascent Māori Party like Turia and others. In the 2005 general election Mahuta ascended to cabinet as part of the Fifth Labour Government’s third and final term. She served as Minister of Customs, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Youth Development, Associate Minister for the Environment, and Associate Minister of Tourism. Following the defeat of the Labour government in the 2008 election, Mahuta held various shadow cabinet portfolios. She later stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party leadership in 2014.

Mahuta was announced as the next Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 November 2020. She received international recognition as the first woman (and first Māori woman) to hold the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Her wearing of a moko has been widely praised as a powerful symbol of Indigenous women. Mahuta has taken a generally progressive platform as Minister of Foreign Affairs. She has called on the Israeli government to stop evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in illegally-occupied East Jerusalem. Mahuta introduced the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, which after unanimous approval imposed various sanctions targeting Russian elites and assets deemed to be complicit in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As part of New Zealand's membership of the Five Eyes alliance, she condemned the disqualification of pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators as a breach of Hong Kong's autonomy and rights under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Domestically, she has been a proponent of the Three Waters reform programme and co-governance. In October 2022, Mahuta became the Mother of the House, having served continuously in the House of Representatives since the 1996 general election.

Early life and family

Mahuta was born in Auckland in 1970 to Eliza Raiha Edmonds, and (later Sir) Robert Mahuta. She was educated at Kura Kaupapa Rakaumanga school in Huntly and later at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls as a boarder. Firstly she studied law at the University of Waikato, but failed four of her seven papers and had to drop out. She then studied social anthropology and Māori business development at the University of Auckland, graduating with an MA (Hons). The title of her 1995 master's thesis was ''Te poukai o Waahi : an historical background to the Waahi poukai''. She also worked at the university as a researcher/archivist.

She has strong links to the Māori King Movement; her father was the adopted son of King Korokī and the elder brother of Māori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. She is related to the Māori monarch, Kingi Tuheitia. Mahuta's sister, Tipa Mahuta, is the co-chair of the Māori Health Authority.

Mahuta is married to William Gannin Ormsby, her first cousin. The couple have had three children together (the first died shortly after birth), plus four children from Ormsby's previous relationship.

In 2016, she acquired a Māori facial tattoo () and became the first female MP to wear one in the New Zealand parliament. Other Māori women in parliament—Metiria Turei of the Green Party and Marama Fox of the Māori Party—spoke of their support.

Political career

Mahuta joined the Labour Party at the request of retiring Western Maori MP Koro Wētere and after hearing Helen Clark speak in Auckland. She contested Te Tai Hauāuru (the replacement seat for Western Maori) in the 1996 elections but lost to New Zealand First's Tuku Morgan. However, with a list ranking of 8, Mahuta was elected as one of the first New Zealand list MPs. Mahuta was aged 26 years and 52 days when she was elected (twelve days younger than Deborah Morris) and was the youngest member of the New Zealand House of Representatives until the election of Darren Hughes in 2002.

In the 1999 election, she again contested Te Tai Hauauru and won, before transferring to Tainui for the 2002 election. That seat was renamed Hauraki-Waikato ahead of the 2008 general election. She has held the seat since.

Foreshore and seabed controversy

In 2004, she joined Tariana Turia, another Labour MP, in voting against the first reading of her party's legislation on the controversial foreshore and seabed issue. She did not, however, join Turia when she quit Labour to found the Māori Party. In the bill's second reading, she again voted against her party, but in the third reading, she changed her position and supported it, saying that it was the politically pragmatic thing to do. In her third reading speech, Mahuta stated that she would withdraw from the Labour Party list at the next election to seek a renewed mandate from her electorate.

Cabinet Minister: 2005–2008

In the 2005 general election Mahuta held her electorate seat of . Subsequently, Mahuta as part of the Labour- Progressive coalition government, was Minister of Customs, Youth Development, Local Government and Associate Environment. Mahuta lost her portfolios when Labour was defeated in the 2008 general election.

In opposition: 2008–2017

Following the defeat of the Labour government in the 2008 election, and Labour's successive losses in 2011 and 2014, Mahuta held various appointments as Labour Party spokesperson for Māori Affairs, Education, Energy and Conservation. She was also deputy chairperson of the Māori Affairs select committee in the 51st Parliament.

In 2009 Mahuta's Resource Management (Enhancement of Iwi Management Plans) Amendment Bill, which proposed giving more weight to Māori in resource-management decisions, was drawn from the members' ballot. The bill was defeated at its first reading in August.

Mahuta twice contested Labour Party leadership positions. She supported David Cunliffe's leadership bid in 2011 and sought election as his deputy; both Cunliffe and Mahuta were unsuccessful. Cunliffe became leader in 2013 but David Parker was the deputy leader. Mahuta later stood for the Labour Party leadership in 2014 where she placed fourth. She considered retiring from politics at the 2017 general election after Maori King Tūheitia Paki changed his allegiance to the Māori Party. However, Mahuta eventually decided to stay on. She was not placed on the Labour Party list at that election in line with Labour's decision for its incumbent Māori electorate MPs to contest the electorate vote only.

Cabinet Minister: since 2017

Mahuta served as a cabinet minister in the Sixth Labour Government with the portfolios for Local Government and Maori Development. She also served as associate ministers for the trade and export growth, the environment and housing portfolios.

In September 2019, Mahuta delivered a tearful and emotional speech as Parliament officially apologised for a police raid in 1916 on Māori leader Rua Kenana's Iharaira faith's compound in Maungapohatu in the North Island's Bay of Plenty region.

During the 2020 general election, Mahuta retained her electorate seat of Hauraki-Waikato, defeating the Māori Party's Donna Pokere-Phillips by a final margin of 9,660 votes.

In October 2022, Mahuta became the Mother of the House, having served continuously in the House of Representatives since the 1996 general election.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

=2020

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Mahuta was announced as the next Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 November 2020. She received international recognition as the first woman (and first Māori woman) to hold the Foreign Affairs portfolio. In addition, she retained her portfolio of Minister for Local Government while becoming Associate Minister of Māori Development.

On 3 November, former Prime Minister Helen Clark and the Māori Council criticised the international media's description of Mahuta as a "tattooed Māori woman" for focusing on her physical appearance and race. On 4 November, right-wing blogger and author Olivia Pierson drew criticism and media coverage for posting a tweet stating that "Facial tattoos, especially on a female diplomat, is the height of ugly, uncivilised wokedom." In response, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon criticised Pierson's actions and said that "Mahuta's kauae moko was special to Māori and should be celebrated." Mahuta declined to comment on the issue. Following criticism of Pierson's post on social media, online retailer Mighty Ape delisted Pierson's book ''Western Values Defended: A Primer''. Pierson described the delisting of her book as "cancel culture" and claimed she had received death threats.

On 18 November, Mahuta joined her Australian, Canadian, British and American counterparts in condemning the disqualification of pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators as a breach of Hong Kong's autonomy and rights under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Zhao Lijian warned the Five Eyes countries, stating that "No matter if they have five eyes or 10 eyes, if they dare to harm China's sovereignty, security and development interests, they should beware of their eyes being poked and blinded." In response, Mahuta defended New Zealand's commitment to free speech, free media, and democracy.

In mid-December, Mahuta stated during an interview with Reuters that New Zealand would be interested in helping to negotiate a truce between Australia and China, whose bilateral relationship had deteriorated due to Australia legislation on foreign investment and interference, Australian support for an international investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese blocks on Australian imports and a controversial Chinese post about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. In response, ''Global Times'' columnist Qian Feng claimed that New Zealand was not suited for the role of mediator since it was part of the same Western camp as Australia.

=2021

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On 9 February 2021, Mahuta announced that New Zealand had suspended high-level bilateral relations with Myanmar in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The New Zealand Government joined other Western governments in refusing to recognise the new military-led government and called for the restoration of civilian-led rule. In addition, aid projects were diverted away from the Myanmar military and a travel ban was imposed on Myanmar's military leaders.

On 19 April, Mahuta stated that New Zealand would not let the United States-led Five Eyes dictate New Zealand's bilateral relationship with China and that New Zealand was uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the intelligence grouping. Mahuta's statements came amid rising disagreements between the New Zealand and Australian Governments on how to manage relations with Beijing. In March 2021, the Australian and New Zealand governments issued a joint statement condemning the treatment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang; however, the Australian Government has since expressed concern about what it perceives as New Zealand Government efforts to undermine Five Eyes attempts to push back on what the Australian Government regards as "increasingly aggressive behaviour from Beijing." In response to Mahuta's remarks, Prime Minister Ardern stated that New Zealand was still committed to the Five Eyes alliance but would not use the group as its first point for messaging on non-security matters. While British media criticised New Zealand for allegedly leaving the Five Eyes club, the Chinese ''Global Times'' praised New Zealand for putting its own national interests over the Five Eyes.

During a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on 22 April 2021, Mahuta discussed the issue of New Zealand deportees from Australia, the ISIL bride Suhayra Aden and the two government's differing approaches towards China.

On 11 May 2021, Mahuta called on Israel to stop evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem and for "both sides to halt steps which undermine prospects for a two state solution".

Following the 2021 Hong Kong legislative election held on 19 December 2021, Foreign Minister Mahuta joined other Five Eyes foreign ministers issuing a joint statement criticising the exclusion of opposition candidates and urging China to respect human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong in accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In response, the Chinese Embassy in Wellington issued a statement claiming the election was "politically inclusive and fair" and urged the Five Eyes alliance to respect Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong.

=2022

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In late January 2022, Mahuta reaffirmed the New Zealand Government's support for Ukraine in response to the Russian military build-up on the Russo-Ukrainian border and urged Russian to reduce tensions in accordance with international law. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in mid February 2022, Mahuta and Ardern joined New Zealand's Western allies in condemning Russian actions against Ukraine. As Foreign Minister, Mahuta introduced the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, which imposed various sanctions targeting Russian elites and assets deemed to be complicit in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bill passed into law on 9 March 2022 with unanimous support from all members of the New Zealand Parliament.

In mid-June 2022, Mahuta hosted Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during her first state visit to New Zealand. The two Foreign Ministers reaffirmed bilateral cooperation in the areas of climate change, indigenous, and Indo-Pacific issues. The opposition ACT Party's foreign affairs spokeperson Brooke Van Velden criticised Mahuta's few international trips during her tenure as Foreign Minister, suggesting that Mahuta was preoccupied with the Three Waters reform programme. By comparison, her Australian counterpart Wong had undertaken a "grand tour" of the Pacific Islands following the election of the Albanese government in late May 2022 to counter recent Chinese diplomatic engagement in the region including a bilateral security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

In early August 2022, Mahuta met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the East Asia and ASEAN summits in Cambodia. In addition to acknowledging 50 years of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the People's Republic of China, she reiterated New Zealand's concerns about human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, North Korean missile tests, Sino-Taiwanese tensions following United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit, and urged Beijing not to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Mahuta also accepted an invitation from Wang Yi to visit China.

Minister of Local Government

=Tauranga City Council

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On 4 December 2020, Mahuta, in her role as Minister of Local Government, informed the Tauranga City Council of her intention to appoint commissioners following bitter infighting within the city council that had led to the resignation of the Mayor of Tauranga Tenby Powell on 19 November. Local Government New Zealand supported the move to appoint commissioners in order to get the city's governance "back on track." On 18 December, Mahuta confirmed that the Government would be appointing commissioners to administrate Tauranga since the City Council did not provide "sufficient evidence" about how it was addressing the city's governance issues. These commissioners' terms began in early 2021 and were scheduled to run until the 2022 New Zealand local elections in October 2022.

In mid–March 2022, Mahuta confirmed that Tauranga would continue to be run by four commissioners until July 2024, citing the substantial infrastructure challenges in the city and the surrounding Bay of Plenty region. On 22 April 2022, Mahuta reappointed the Tauranga Commission's chairwoman Anne Tolley and fellow commissioners Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood, and Shadrach Rolleston; with elected councillors expected to return in July 2024.

=Māori wards and constituencies

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On 1 February 2021, Mahuta announced that the Government would pass legislation upholding local councils' decisions to establish Māori wards and constituencies. This new law would also abolish an existing law allowing local referendums to veto decisions by councils to establish Māori wards. This law is intended to come into effect before the scheduled 2022 local body elections.

On 25 February, Mahuta's Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021 passed its third reading in Parliament. This Bill eliminates mechanisms for holding public referendums on the establishment of Māori wards and constituencies on local bodies. Mahuta's Bill was supported by the Labour, Green and Māori parties but opposed by the opposition National and ACT parties. National unsuccessfully attempted to delay the bill by mounting a twelve hour filibuster challenging all of the Bill's ten clauses.

=Three Waters reform programme

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As Minister of Local Government, Mahuta has played an important role in promoting and implementing the Government's contentious Three Waters reform programme, which proposes taking control of water utility services away from local councils and centralising them in four new entities. Mahuta has argued that the Three Water reforms will give Māori a greater say in the administration of water resources, stating the status of water as Taonga in Māori culture. In early October 2021, five Christchurch City councillors demanded that she resign her local government portfolio over the Three Waters reforms. Mahuta rejected their demand, accusing the councillors of "political campaigning." On 27 October, Mahuta formally launched the Three Waters reforms, which attracted criticism from several local leaders including Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff, Mayor of Christchurch Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Wellington Andy Foster, and the opposition National and ACT parties.
In response to criticism, Mahuta acknowledged that the Three Waters reforms policy was not popular but accused opponents of spreading misinformation. In March 2022, Mahuta acknowledged underestimating the level of public opposition to the Three Waters reforms and problems with the associated promotional advertising campaign.

As Minister of Local Government, Mahuta introduced the Water Services Entities Bill in early June 2022. As part of the Three Waters reform programme, this proposed bill would establish the four regional water services entities that would take over management of water infrastructure from local councils. Under the proposed law, councils would retain ownership of their water assets through a "community share" arrangement but the new water service entities would retain effective control over these assets. Mahuta also confirmed that further legislation would also be introduced to facilitate the transfer of assets and liabilities from local authorities to the new water services entities, integrate entities into other regulatory systems, and to ensure economic regulation and consumer protection over the new entities. The National Party, ACT Party, and Communities 4 Local Democracy leader and Manawatū District Mayor Helen Worboy opposed the Water Services Entities Bill, claiming that it would transfer control of water assets from local communities into a new centralised bureaucracy.

In early December 2022, Mahuta supported a controversial Green Party entrenchment clause in the Water Services Entities Bill proposing that any future law change on the ownership of public water assets would require 60% parliamentary support or a referendum. Within New Zealand law, entrenchment clauses have traditionally been reserved for constitutional matters in the Electoral Act 1993 such as the voting age. Mahuta's position went against the Labour Cabinet's position opposing the entrenchment clause. In response, the opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon called for Mahuta to be sacked from Cabinet for allegedly defying Cabinet's decision not to adopt the entrenchment clause. In addition, Shadow Leader of the House Chris Bishop accused Mahuta of failing to consult Justice Minister Kiri Allan on proposals relating to constitutional arrangements. Prime Minister Ardern defended Mahuta and accused Luxon of misrepresenting Mahuta's actions while reaffirming Labour's opposition to privatising water assets. The Water Services Entities Bill passed its third reading on 7 December with the sole support of the Labour Party. During the final reading, Mahuta argued that the legislation would help address water contamination and quality issues, citing the 2016 Havelock North campylobacter contamination incident and a recent "boil water" notice in the Matamata-Piako District.

On 8 December, Mahuta confirmed during an interview with 1 News journalist Jessica Mutch McKay that she would be contesting the 2023 general election in order "to ensure that the changes that we've he Labour Governmentbeen putting through can continue to progress".

Waste management working group controversy

In late May 2022, ''The New Zealand Herald'' reported that the Ministry for the Environment had awarded Mahuta's husband William Gannin Ormsby and several family members contracts worth above NZ$90,000, commencing late October 2020. Ormbsy owned a waste management consultancy service called Ka Awatea Services. In addition, the social housing provider Kāinga Ora paid Ormbsy's company NZ$73,000 for organising hui (social gatherings) and workshops. At the time, Mahuta held the portfolio of Associate Minister for Education. The opposition National Party accused Mahuta of unfairly awarding contracts to relatives. On 21 June 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defended Mahuta, claiming that she had abided by Cabinet policies and protocol.

In response to a parliamentary question submitted by National MP Simeon Brown, Environment Minister David Parker confirmed that the Ministry of Environment was investigating the process through which William Ormsby, his nephew Tamoko Ormsby and wife Waimirirangi Ormsby were appointed to a five-member advisory working group researching the application of indigenous Māori knowledge to waste management practices. The Ministry claimed that the Ormsbys had been selected for their role because of their expertise and that cabinet ministers were not involved in the selection process. The Ministry also emphasised that the Mahuta family connection had been disclosed from the beginning and that it had sought external advice on the appointments.

On 21 September 2022, the Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes launched an investigation into four contracts that Ormsby's Ka Awatea Services had made with four government departments: Kāinga Ora, the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of Conservation and Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry for Māori Development). Hughes had commenced the investigation at the request of both National MP Simeon Brown and Mahuta herself. Mahuta emphasised that she had declared any potential conflicts of interest, abided by the Cabinet manual and supported the Public Service Commissioner's investigation.

On 13 November 2022, the Public Service Commission released its report into Ka Wa Atea's government contracts. The report found that Te Puni Kōkiri, the Environment Ministry, and Kāinga Ora failed to manage conflicts of interests by following their own policies and processes while the Department of Conservation had poor contract management practices. However, the Commission's report concluded that it found "no evidence of favouritism, bias, or undue influence over agency decisions" in relation to Ka Awatea Services. In response, Mahuta welcomed the report as a vindication of her assertion that she had no role in approving these contracts. In addition, National MP Brown stated that the Commission's report exposed a "culture of carelessness" in how the public service procured services and managed conflicts of interest.

Views and positions

Abortion

In 2020, Nanaia Mahuta exercised her conscience vote in opposing the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which decriminalised abortion in New Zealand. In June 2022, Mahuta published a Twitter post condemning the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn ''Roe v. Wade'', which had accorded a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Mahuta was criticised by Twitter users for hypocrisy on the grounds that she had opposed the Abortion Legislation Act.

References

External links

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1970 births
21st-century New Zealand politicians
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BBC 100 Women
Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
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Living people
Māori MPs
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
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New Zealand foreign ministers
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