Māori politics () is the politics of the
Māori people
Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...
, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority.
Before the arrival of
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
(Europeans) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around
tribal units, and
chiefs (') provided political leadership. With the British settlers of the 19th century came a new
British-style government. From the outset, Māori sought representation within this government, seeing it as a vital way to promote their people's rights and improve living standards.
Modern Māori politics can be seen as a subset of
New Zealand politics
The politics of New Zealand () function within a framework of an Independence of New Zealand, independent, unitary state, unitary, parliamentary democracy. The system of government is based on the Westminster system, and the legal system is ...
in general, but has a number of distinguishing features, including advocacy for
indigenous rights and
Māori sovereignty. Many Māori politicians are members of major, historically European-dominated
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
, while others have formed separate Māori parties. For example,
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
, holding six of seven
Māori electorates
In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
, is one such party. The state has devolved power to Māori entities in an arrangement described as
co-governance.
Pre-colonial Māori governance
Before the arrival of
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
(European settlers) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around communal units. A common misconception is that pre-colonial Māori governance was structured into the "rigid and static structural models" (p. 19)
[Ballara, A. (1998). ''Iwi: The dynamics of Māori tribal organisation from c.1769 to c.1945''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press.] proposed by early ethnologists, such as
Elsdon Best (1934):
Twentieth century research "modified this model of tribal organisation, emphasising the role of the hapū ... as the largest effective corporate group which defended a territory or worked together in peaceful enterprises"
Therefore, it is now understood that hapū were responsible for administering resources, land, and important community buildings, and were also responsible for warfare (particularly maintaining the
waka).
Political leadership or governance in Māori society has traditionally come from two different groups of people – the
Ariki
An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki ( Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), Rotuma) aiki or hakaiki ( Marquesas Islands), akariki (Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is o ...
and the
Rangatira. The Ariki are "persons of the highest rank and seniority".
Ariki did not operate in simple
hierarchical organisations; despite what later "government officers were inclined to believe", Ariki have never been "the apex of a structured hierarchy of institutionalised tribal authority".
Many positions overlap with Ariki holding multiple roles, including "head of an iwi, the rangatira of a
hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
and the
kaumātua
A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder in a Māori community who has been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both current a ...
of a
whanau".
Māori and colonial politics
A constitution for New Zealand between Māori and the British Crown was signed in 1835 with the drawing up and agreement of the
Declaration of Independence of New Zealand. The Māori-language document is often referred to as ''He Whakaputanga.'' The full
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
name is ''He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni.'' This was a way for Māori tribal groups to assert their authority to the wider world and strengthen an alliance with Great Britain. He Whakaputenga partly came out of lawlessness amongst British subjects in New Zealand and on the British side was a response to French colonial competition.
In 1840 The
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
(Te Tiriti o Waitangi), signed between various Māori iwi and the British Crown, had the practical effect of transferring sovereignty to the United Kingdom. The Māori language version had a different intent in which the Māori who signed agreed share power and authority with the British Governor whilst retaining authority over their people and territories.
Māori leaders did not agree to release sovereignty to the Crown.
As settlement increased, the colonists became increasingly vocal in their call for self-government, separate from Great Britain. Māori land title was not understood by the settlers yet they actively pursued land sales.
In 1852, the British government passed the
New Zealand Constitution Act, establishing an elected
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...
.
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...
, where this Parliament had the authority to appoint
Cabinet, was achieved a few years later. At first, Māori had little interest in the new Parliament, seeing it as a Pākehā institution with no real relevance to them because according to Te Tiriti they still had authority over their own resources and law.
Later, however, there was an increasing desire by Māori to participate in Parliament.The
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
of the 1860s, coupled with ongoing land seizures, convinced many Māori that the "settler Parliament" now had a major impact on them, and that their voices needed to be heard in it.
There was never any law barring Māori from election to Parliament, nor barring them from voting, in practice, however, other laws made it virtually impossible. The major stumbling block was the
property qualification
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
, which required voters to own a certain amount of land. While Māori owned a large portion of New Zealand, most of this was held in common, not under individual title. As such, few individual Māori met the property requirement personally – even if they were part-owners of vast amounts of land, they did not have any land which they owned exclusively, and so did not qualify to vote.
In 1867, however, Parliament passed the Maori Representation Act, which created four special
electorates for Māori.
These seats did not have a property qualification. The creation of the seats was controversial, being opposed by those Pākehā who saw Māori as uncivilised. It was also opposed by a small group which felt that by creating separate Māori electorates, Māori would be sidelined, as Pākehā politicians would not have to consult Māori opinion as they would if Māori voted in general electorates. There was also debate about the number of seats – if Māori had been given a number of seats equivalent to their population, they would have had around fifteen seats, not four. One of the more radical MPs in Parliament,
James FitzGerald, actually called for Māori to be given a third of the seats in Parliament, but this was widely seen as excessive. In the end, the seats were approved based mainly on a desire to improve relations with Māori and reduce military conflict. The first Māori MPs took their seats in 1868.
It was intended that these seats would eventually be abolished as Māori abandoned traditional land ownership traditions. In the end, however, the seats were retained, and still exist today.
There have, over the years, been a number of attempts to abolish them, with a number of different reasons being given – some said that reserving seats was unfair, while others said that keeping Māori electorates separate meant that Māori were marginalised and ignored by mainstream politicians. Many Māori politicians defended the electorates, saying that they were necessary to ensure Māori representation in Parliament. Other Māori leaders, however, said that the seats were not required – there have been Māori politicians who have gained election in non-Māori electorates.
Māori in mainstream parties
When Māori MPs were first elected to Parliament, there were no formal political parties in New Zealand. After the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
was founded, however, it gained the support of a number of prominent Māori figures. The most prominent Māori to serve as a Liberal MP was
Āpirana Ngata, who rose high within the Liberal Party's hierarchy. Ngata is said by many to be the most prominent Māori MP ever, and he is featured on New Zealand's
fifty-dollar note. The Liberal Party did not have an exclusive control of the Māori electorates, however –
Maui Pomare, another prominent Māori politician, was a member of the conservative and rural
Reform Party, as were
Taurekareka Henare and
Taite Te Tomo. The
Young Māori Party supported political action, but it was not a formal party.
In the 1930s, new movements began to arise in Māori politics. In particular, the
Ratana church expanded its political participation, standing candidates for Parliament. In the
1935 election, Ratana won two of the four Māori electorates. The Ratana MPs did not remain independent for long, however – they quickly merged into the
Labour Party, which they saw as best addressing Māori needs. By
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 � ...
, the Labour/Ratana alliance had won all four Māori electorates, establishing a pattern of dominance that many people thought was unbreakable. Among the most prominent Māori MPs in the Labour Party were
Eruera Tirikatene, who was succeeded by his daughter,
Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
Tini "Whetu" Marama Tirikatene-Sullivan (9 January 1932 – 20 July 2011) was a New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1967 to 1996, representing the Labour Party and was New Zealand’s first Māori woman cabinet minister. At the time of ...
– both represented
Southern Maori in Parliament for several decades.
Despite Labour's dominance of the Māori vote, the
National Party, Labour's main opponent, occasionally elected Māori MPs in general electorates.
Ben Couch (
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...
) and
Rex Austin (
Awarua), were elected in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, the second and third Māori elected to a general seat (after Sir
James Carroll in 1893).
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
, elected to
Tauranga
Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...
in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
(he had previously stood for
Northern Maori) is half Māori.
In the
1996 election, a major shift in Māori politics occurred when Labour lost all the Māori electorates (of which there were now five) to the
New Zealand First
New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
party. New Zealand First, while not a Māori party, has a strong Māori wing, and its leader,
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
(originally of the National Party), is half Māori. New Zealand First's clean sweep of the Māori electorates surprised many observers, who had believed that Labour's grip was too strong to be broken. In the
1999 election, Labour won all the Māori electorates back again, but the traditional Māori allegiance to Labour has been re-evaluated – Labour cannot, most observers say, simply take Māori support for granted.

Since the
advent of the
MMP electoral system
An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
, Māori representation in Parliament has increased – Māori are able to be elected as
list MP
A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than a geographic electoral district. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs only in ...
s, bypassing the problem of securing an electorate. This has been particularly noticeable in parties which have traditionally contained few Māori – MPs such as
Georgina te Heuheu in the
National Party and
Donna Awatere Huata
Donna Lynn Awatere Huata (sometimes written Awatere-Huata, previously known as Donna Awatere; born 1949) is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament for the ACT New Zealand Party, activist for Māori people, Māori causes, and convicted fra ...
in the
ACT party are not likely to have entered Parliament without MMP, given the difficulty that their parties would face contesting the Māori electorates.
Following the
2023 election, the
54th New Zealand Parliament
The 54th New Zealand Parliament is the current meeting of the legislature in New Zealand. It opened on 5 December 2023 following the 2023 New Zealand general election, 14 October 2023 general election, and will expire on or before 16 November ...
marks the highest-ever Māori representation, with 33 MPs across all six parties,
compared to 25 in the previous term and 29 in the term prior to that. Labour has 9 Māori MPs, Te Pāti Māori has 6,
Greens have 6, National has 5, NZ First has 4, and ACT has 3.
The introduction of MMP brought further calls for the abolition of the Māori electorates, which many deemed unnecessary in the new system. Despite the existence of the special electorates, Māori voter turnout has been consistently less than that of non-Māori.
Māori parties
Throughout the history of Māori participation in mainstream parties, there have been those who argue that Māori cannot truly be represented unless they have a separate group. In recent years, with the resurgence of Māori culture, these calls have increased. In 1979, a Labour MP,
Matiu Rata, quit the party to form his own group, saying that Māori could not succeed if they were simply a component of a larger group. Later,
Tuariki Delamere would say much the same thing, claiming that "you cannot be accountable to Māori if your first allegiance is to a political vehicle that is owned and controlled by Pākehā."
Tariana Turia
Dame Tariana Turia (née Woon; 8 April 1944 – 3 January 2025) was a New Zealand Māori protest movement, Māori rights activist and politician. She was first elected to New Zealand Parliament, Parliament in 1996 as a representative of the Ne ...
broke from the Labour Party to co-found the Māori Party (also called
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
), which won four of the seven Māori seats in the
2005 election previously held by the Labour Party, and a fifth Māori seat in the
2008 election. Te Pāti Māori entered a
confidence and supply
In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreement with the
Fifth National Government in 2008 and two of its MPs became ministers outside Cabinet in that Government. This government was dissolved after the
2017 election, in which Te Pāti Māori lost all its seats in parliament and all Māori seats were captured by the mainstream Labour Party. In the
2023 election, Te Pāti Māori won six of the seven Māori seats.
Below are some of the parties which have been based around Māori voters, or which are sometimes seen as such.
Mana Motuhake (1980-2005)
Mana Motuhake, roughly translated as "self-government", was founded in 1979 as an independent Māori party by Labour MP
Matiu Rata. Rata resigned from Parliament to contest a by-election under Mana Motuhake's banner, but was not re-elected. The party tried for some time to win the Māori electorates, but was never elected to Parliament. In 1991, Mana Motuhake joined the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
, a broad left-wing coalition. Under the Alliance, several Mana Motuhake members, including
Sandra Lee-Vercoe
Sandra Rose Te Hakamatua Lee-Vercoe (born 8 August 1952) is a former New Zealand politician and diplomat. She served as deputy leader (and briefly leader) of the Alliance party and was later High Commissioner to Niue.
Early life
Lee was bor ...
and
Willie Jackson, were elected to Parliament. When the Alliance split, Mana Motuhake remained with the hardline faction, which failed to retain any seats in Parliament. Mana Motuhake has since left the Alliance.
Mana Māori Movement (1993-2005)
The
Mana Māori Movement
The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Man ...
was founded by
Eva Rickard, a former candidate of Mana Motuhake. Rickard objected to the decision by Mana Motuhake to join the Alliance, believing that a completely independent Māori party was required. Mana Māori contested the Māori electorates, but never won a place in Parliament. In the most recent election, it worked in coalition with Te Tawharau and Piri Wiri Tua.
Mana Wahine (1998-2001)
Mana Wahine Te Ira Tangata, founded by former
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
(Mana Motuhake) MP
Alamein Kopu, stated its goal as promoting and protecting the interests of Māori women. Many of its opponents, however, claimed that the party was born out of Kopu's "opportunism", and denied that it had any real ideological commitment. Kopu was not re-elected.
Mauri Pacific (1998-2001)
Mauri Pacific
Mauri Pacific () was a short-lived political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1998 by five former members of the New Zealand First party. It has often been described as a Māori people, Māori party. Officially, Mauri Pacific was a multicu ...
, founded by five former
New Zealand First
New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
MPs, denied that it was a Māori party, saying instead that it was merely "
multiculturalist". It did, however, have policies that were strongly favourable towards Māori, and three of its five MPs (including its leader) were of Māori descent. This contributed to a widespread perception of it as a Māori party. The similarity of "Mauri" and "Māori" likely strengthened this view, although the words are unrelated. None of the party's MPs were re-elected, and it has since dissolved.
Te Tawharau (1995-2007)
Te Tawharau
Te Tawharau (roughly translated as "the shelter") was a Māori political party in New Zealand.
Te Tawharau briefly had representation in Parliament when Tuariki Delamere, a former New Zealand First MP, transferred his loyalty to it. In the 1 ...
is a small Māori party which briefly held a seat in Parliament when
Tuariki Delamere, a former
New Zealand First
New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
MP, joined it. Delamere believed that an independent Māori voice was essential, saying that New Zealand First had tried and failed to balance Māori interests with other concerns. Delamere was not re-elected.
Piri Wiri Tua
The
Piri Wiri Tua Movement
Piri Wiri Tua Movement was a Māori political party in New Zealand associated with the Rātana movement. It was formed in 1999 with the aim of establishing a separate Māori assembly that would work in a partnership alongside Parliament to admin ...
was a small party based around the teachings of the
Rātana
Rātana () is a Māori Christian church and movement, headquartered at Rātana Pā near Whanganui, New Zealand. The Rātana movement began in 1918, when Tahupōtiki Wiremu (T. W.) Ratana claimed to experience visions, and began a mission o ...
church.
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
(also commonly called "the Māori Party" in English) is the largest contemporary Māori political organisation. It was founded by
Tariana Turia
Dame Tariana Turia (née Woon; 8 April 1944 – 3 January 2025) was a New Zealand Māori protest movement, Māori rights activist and politician. She was first elected to New Zealand Parliament, Parliament in 1996 as a representative of the Ne ...
, a Labour MP who quit her party over the
foreshore and seabed controversy, which Turia claims is seeing Māori deprived of their rights. She shared the party leadership with
Pita Sharples, a Māori academic. The Māori Party hoped to win all seven Māori electorates in
the next election, in 2005, although eventually won only four. Polls leading up to the election widely expected this – particularly for Labour MPs
Nanaia Mahuta and
Parekura Horomia to hold their seats. The party gained another seat in the
2008 election, although their share of the
party vote remained low, with many Māori voters splitting their vote between a Māori Party MP and the Labour Party.
After the 2008 election, Te Pāti Māori agreed to support
a minority National government on matters of confidence and supply, gaining ministerial posts for its co-leaders and commitments regarding the Māori electorates and the foreshore and seabed legislation. In 2011, the Māori Party won three out of the seven Māori electorates - both co-leaders winning their electorates (Pita Sharples - Tāmaki Makaurau, and Tariana Turia - Te Tai Hauāuru) and future Māori Party co-leader,
Te Ururoa Flavell, winning the Waiariki electorate. In 2014, the Māori Party won one of seven Māori electorates with Te Ururoa Flavell winning the Waiariki seat again. This enabled Flavell's fellow co-leader
Marama Fox to enter Parliament as a List MP due to the Māori Party reaching national vote threshold requirements.
The party was ousted from Parliament in the 2017 election, with Labour MP
Tāmati Coffey winning Waiariki (the only seats held by the Māori Party) with 50.8% of the vote. This was analysed as being backlash for their support of National.
Under new
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
leadership, Te Pāti Māori returned at the
2020 election, when
Rawiri Waititi won the
Waiariki electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
...
. Although the party's share of the country-wide party vote declined from 1.18% in 2017 to 1.17% in 2020, winning Waiariki gave the party the right to full proportional representation, giving it two
MPs, with
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer subsequently becoming a
list MP
A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than a geographic electoral district. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs only in ...
. In the
2023 election, Te Pāti Māori won six electorate seats and 3.08% of the popular vote.
Mana Movement
The
Mana Movement
The Mana Movement, originally known as the Mana Party, was a political party in New Zealand. The party was led by Hone Harawira who formed it in April 2011 following his resignation from the Māori Party. Harawira won the 2011 Te Tai Tokerau by- ...
is a New Zealand political party led by
Hone Harawira which was formed in April 2011 following Hone Harawira's resignation from the Māori Party. Hone Harawira won the by-election in
Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party, and went on to retain this seat during the
2011 election. The party lost its one-seat during the 2014 election. The decision to work with the
Internet Party is largely blamed for the loss because of the concerns people had with Internet Party's founder, and financier,
Kim Dotcom
Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz; born 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a Finnish-German Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand.
He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a ha ...
.
[New Zealand's Ruling National Party Is Re-elected](_blank)
''The New York Times'', 20 September 2014
The party ran again in the
2017 election but didn't win a seat. They did not run in the
2020 election or the
2023 election.
Other sites of Māori political participation
Māori politics extends beyond participation within general elections. This includes government-recognised tribal organisations which have proliferated through the resolution of
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
breaches and increased enthusiasm by Māori to receive and manage these returned assets. Māori also participate politically within iwi
rūnanga
In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rū ...
, which are the governing councils or administrative groups for Māori hapū or iwi. Often, these tribal organisations work directly with local government. For example, the Independent Māori Statutory Board who informs the Auckland Council, as well as ensuring the council's compliance with statutory provisions under the Treaty of Waitangi.
Co-governance
''Co-governance'' is a phrase used to describe various negotiated arrangements where Māori and
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
share decision-making or "where Māori exercise a form of self-determination through a
devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
of state power." Examples can include the co-management of natural resources (such as mountains and rivers) as part of
Treaty of Waitangi settlements, the provision of social services to Māori by Māori-focused entities (such as
Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority), and the guaranteed inclusion of Māori in local governance (via
Māori wards and constituencies).
Māori politicians
*
Allan, Kiritapu
*
Awatere Huata, Donna
*
Bennett, Paula
*
Beyer, Georgina
*
Bond, Ria
*
Bridges, Simon
*
Te Rangi Hīroa
*
Carroll, James
*
Coffey, Tāmati
*
Couch, Ben
*
Davidson, Marama
*
Davis, Kelvin
*
Delamere, Tuariki
*
Eagle, Paul
*
Fenton, Darien
*
Flavell, Te Ururoa
*
Fox, Marama
*
Gregory, Bruce
*
Gudgeon, Bill
*
Harawira, Hone
*
Hauiti, Claudette
*
Hawke, Joe
*
Hayes, Joanne
*
Henare, Peeni
*
Henare, Taurekareka (Tau)
*
Henare, Tau
*
Hereora, Dave
*
Hipango, Harete
*
Horomia, Parekura
*
Jackson, Willie
*
Jones, Shane
*
Katene, Rahui
*
Kopu, Alamein
*
Korako, Nuk
*
Lee-Vercoe, Sandra
*
Luxton, Jo
*
Mackey, Moana
*
Mahuta, Nanaia
*
Maipi-Clarke, Hana-Rawhiti
*
Marcroft, Jenny
*
Mark, Ron
*
Martin, Tracey
*
Morgan, Tuku
*
Ngata, Āpirana
*
Ngarewa-Packer, Debbie
*
Okeroa, Mahara
*
Paraone, Pita
*
Parata, Hekia
*
Pere, Wi
*
Perry, Edwin
*
Peters, Ian
*
Peters, Jim
*
Peters, Winston
*
Pettis, Jill
*
Pomare, Maui
*
Prime, Willow-Jean
*
Rata, Matiu
*
Rātana, Iriaka
*
Reti, Shane
*
Rickard, Eva
*
Ririnui, Mita
*
Roche, Denise
*
Ross, Jami-Lee
*
Rurawhe, Adrian
*
Samuels, Dover
*
Seymour, David
*
Sharples, Pita
*
Tabuteau, Fletcher
*
Taiaroa, Hōri Kerei
*
Tamihere, John
*
Tangaere-Manuel, Cushla
*
Tapsell, Peter
*
Tawhai, Hone Mohi
*
Te Heuheu, Georgina
*
Tirikatene, Eruera
*
Tirikatene, Rino
*
Tirikatene-Sullivan, Whetu
*
Turei, Metiria
*
Turia, Tariana
*
Waitai, Rana
*
Waititi, Rawiri
*
Wall, Louisa
*
Wētere, Koro
*
Whaitiri, Meka
*
Williams, Arena
*
Wyllie, Tu
Terminology used in Māori politics
*Customary right – right acknowledged (usually via the Treaty of Waitangi) as being a traditional right of Māori
*
Hui – tribal gathering, conference
*
Mana
Mana may refer to:
Religion and mythology
* Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology
* Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...
– prestige, honour, respect, dignity, integrity
*
Mana motuhake – self-government, autonomy
*Kotahitanga – unity, co-operation
*
Māoritanga – Māori culture, identification with things Māori, "Māoriness"
*
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
– people of European descent, non-Māori
*
Rangatiratanga – chieftainship, sovereignty
*
Tino rangatiratanga – highest chieftainship,
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
, absolute sovereignty
*
Rūnanga
In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rū ...
– tribal council, administrative board
*Te Tiriti – the
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
*
Tangata whenua
In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that translates to "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people who's common ancestors are bur ...
– "people of the land"; indigenous people, Māori
*
Tikanga Māori
Tikanga is a Māori term for practices, customary law, attitudes and principles. Te Aka Māori Dictionary defines it as "customary system of values and practices that have developed over time and are deeply embedded in the social context". M ...
– the Māori way
*Waka Māori – a Māori political vehicle
*
Kaitiaki
Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as k ...
– guardian, trustee
See also
*
Māori wards and constituencies
*
Structural discrimination in New Zealand
References
External links
Article on "Tōrangapū – Māori and political parties"on Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maori Politics
Politics of New Zealand
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
Race relations in New Zealand
Identity politics
Ethnicity in politics