Te Raukura O'Connell Rapira (born Laura O'Connell Rapira; 1988) is a Māori and Irish campaigner, organiser and facilitator. They advocate for Indigenous land rights,

Mana Motuhake Mana Māori Motuhake was a Māori political party in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005. The name is difficult to translate accurately, but essentially refers to Māori self-rule and self-determination — , in this context, can be understood as ...

, police and prison abolition, fully funded mental and sexual health services, LGBTQIA+ equality, the political power of young people and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

Biography

O'Connell Rapira was born in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

and later moved to West Auckland where they attended Green Bay High School. They are

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 ...

of the iwi Te Ātiawa,

Ngāruahine Ngāruahine is a Māori people, Māori iwi of New Zealand located in South Taranaki, North Island. Treaty settlement A Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements, treaty settlement was signed with the Crown in 2014. Following ratification of the ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...

and

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand, tracing its descent from Whakaue Kaipapa, son of Uenuku-kopakō, and grandson of Tūhourangi. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa w ...

. As a young person they were part of an accelerator programme for social enterprise initiatives. From this O'Connell Rapira co-founded RockEnrol in 2014 to encourage young people to enrol and vote in New Zealand's general elections. They were a founding team member of ActionStation and a co-founder of Tauiwi Tautoko and the Youth Movement Fund Aotearoa. In 2020, O'Connell Rapira petitioned the New Zealand government to make

Matariki In Māori culture, Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. The rising marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. Historically, Matariki was usually celebr ...

a public holiday. In 2022 the New Zealand government passed the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act and the first Matariki public holiday was held on Friday 24 June 2022. O'Connell Rapira has also been involved in petitioning the New Zealand government for Māori wards, a complete overhaul of

Oranga Tamariki (OT), also known as the Ministry for Children and previously the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, is a government department in New Zealand responsible for the well-being of children, specifically children at risk of harm, youth offenders and ...

, increased government funding for sexual and mental health, gun law reform, violence prevention, increased income support and an end to online hate and abuse. From 2021 to 2023, O'Connell Rapira was the Executive Director, Movement Building at the

Foundation for Young Australians Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

where their focus was on building the political power of youth movements. In November 2023, O'Connell Rapira launched the Narratives for Change Fellowship with The Workshop in collaboration with their former ActionStaton co-director Marianne Elliott. O'Connell Rapira is a contributing writer to New Zealand news website ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' and a TEDxChristchurch speaker.

Recognition

In 2017, O'Connell Rapira was nominated for the Te Whetū Maiangi Award for Young Achievers and the Kiwibank Young New Zealander of the Year.

Personal life

O'Connell Rapira is

takatāpui (also spelled ; ) is a Māori language term that is used in a similar way to LGBT. When speaking Māori, LGBT people of any culture are referred to as . In English, a person is a Māori individual who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgende ...

and is frank about this being a driver for them to seek social justice and equality in society. O'Connell Rapira is also

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

References

External links

* Talk by O'Connell Rapira at an event in 2014 called ''Festival for the Future'' https://vimeo.com/106451253 {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell Rapira, Laura 1988 births Living people New Zealand LGBTQ rights activists Women political writers New Zealand environmentalists New Zealand women environmentalists People from Taranaki Te Āti Awa people Ngāpuhi people Te Rarawa people Ngāti Whakaue people New Zealand health activists