Rino Tirikatene (born 1972) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a former member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. He comes from a family with a strong political history. Tirikatene represented the

Te Tai Tonga Te Tai Tonga () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorates, Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 New Zeal ...

Māori electorate from the until the , when he was returned to Parliament as 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 ...

. He retired from politics in January 2024.

Early life

Born in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

, Tirikatene affiliates to the

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

and

Ngāti Hine Ngāti Hine is an Māori iwi (tribe) with a rohe (tribal area) in Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the wider Ngāpuhi iwi. Its rohe (tribal area) covers the areas of Waiomio, Kawakawa, Taumarere, Moerewa, Motatau, Waimahae, Pakara ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. He is the grandson of Sir

Eruera Tirikatene Sir Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene (5 January 1895 – 11 January 1967) was a New Zealand Māori politician of Ngāi Tahu descent. Known in early life as Edward James Te Aika Tregerthen, he was the first Rātana Member of Parliament and was ...

and the nephew of

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 ...

. His grandfather and aunt between them held the

Southern Maori Southern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Western Maori and Eastern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updat ...

electorate for 64 years from

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and 1996. As such, the name Tirikatene is for many voters synonymous with the

Māori electorate 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 ...

that covers the southern part of New Zealand. Prior to running for parliament, Tirikatene worked as a commercial lawyer with

Simpson Grierson Simpson Grierson is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1887; it is ranked in the top legal firms in that country, and the largest by headcount. The firm is a partnership comprising 45 partners and consultants supported by around 175 ...

and in a variety of Māori economic development roles.

Member of Parliament

In Opposition, 2011–2017

Tirikatene stood for Labour in Te Puku O Te Whenua in the 1996 election. His father, Rino Tirikatene Senior, was originally selected for the seat but died suddenly on the campaign trail. Tirikatene was asked to replace his father. That year,

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 ...

won all Māori electorates, with Rana Waitai beating Tirikatene and

Tu Wyllie Tutekawa "Tu" Wyllie (born 24 October 1954) is a former New Zealand politician and rugby union player. A first five-eighth, Wyllie represented Wellington at a provincial level, and played one match for the New Zealand national side, the All Bl ...

defeating Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan. He was selected to represent Labour in the Te Tai Tonga electorate on 1 December 2010. Te Tai Tonga is one of the seven Māori electorates, covers the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

plus

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and is New Zealand's largest electorate by area. In the

2011 New Zealand general election The 2011 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 26 November 2011 to determine the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament. One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from sin ...

, Tirikatene was placed at number 45 on the Labour Party list. He contested the Te Tai Tonga electorate against the incumbent, Rahui Katene of the

Māori Party 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 ...

. Labour's selection of Tirikatene was criticised as cynical by Katene, as they are both from the same

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 ...

, but this was rejected by Tirikatene, as "all Maoris connect up somewhere along the line". Tirikatene won the electorate with a margin of 1,475 votes. The electorate had previously been held by Labour, from until 2005. In 2013, Tirikatene voted against the Marriage Amendment Bill, which aims to permit same sex marriage in New Zealand, with fellow Labour MPs

William Sio Aupito Tofae Su'a William Sio (born 1960) is a politician who became a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives on 1 April 2008 for the Labour Party as a list MP. From the November to 2023, he represented the Māngere electorate. Pe ...

, Ross Robertson and

Damien O'Connor Damien Peter O'Connor (born 16 January 1958) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister for Land Information and Minister for Rural ...

. Tirikatene significantly increased his majority in the and again in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. In Opposition for the six years of his Parliamentary career, Tirikatene served variously as the Labour Party spokesperson for customs, fisheries, tourism and Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, as well as holding a number of associate spokesperson roles.

In Government, 2017–2023

When the Labour Party formed a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

in 2017, Tirikatene was appointed chairperson of the Māori Affairs select committee. During the 2020 general election, Tirikatene was re-elected by a margin of 6,855 votes, retaining Te Tai Tonga for Labour. In early November 2020, Tirikatane was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries and Minister for Trade and Export Growth with responsibility for Māori Trade. In a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister

Chris Hipkins Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), leader of the Opposition since November 2023. H ...

on 31 January 2023 Tirikatene was appointed Minister for Courts and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth.

In Opposition, 2023–2024

During the 2023 general election, Tirikatane was unseated from his electorate seat by

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 ...

(Māori Party) candidate Tākuta Ferris by a margin of 2,824 votes. Tirikatane was re-elected to Parliament on the Labour party list. Following the formation of the National-led coalition government in late November 2023, Tirikatene became spokesperson for corrections and land information in the Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins. On 5 December 2023, Tirikatene was granted retention of the title ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

'', in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council. Tirakatene announced on 26 January 2024 that he would be resigning from Parliament with effect from 28 January, to "reset and take up new opportunities" – and would not be making a valedictory speech. The next candidate on Labour's party list, Tracey McLellan, would take up the seat vacated by Tirakatene.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirikatene, Rino 1972 births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Ngāi Tahu people Ngāti Hine people Ngāti Kahungunu people Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election People from Rangiora Candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Government ministers of New Zealand New Zealand list MPs