Te Tawharau (roughly translated as "the shelter") was a

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 C ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Te Tawharau briefly had representation in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

when

Tuariki Delamere Tuariki John Edward Delamere (born 9 December 1951) is a former New Zealand politician. He served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1996 to 1999, and was a member of Cabinet for the duration of his term. Early life Delamere was b ...

, a former

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

MP, transferred his loyalty to it. In the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

, Te Tawharau contested electorates under its own banner, but contested the party vote as part of 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 Mana ...

. It did not, however, win any seats, with Delamere losing his position to

Mita Ririnui Mita Michael Ririnui is a former New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party. He was a member of parliament from 1999 to 2011. Early years Ririnui was born in Tauranga. He obtained his education from Tauranga Boys' College, Bay of ...

of the Labour Party. Te Tawharau was founded by Delamere, the late Wharekaihua Coates, known as Willie Coates, and Rangitukehu David Paul. Te Tawharau was founded on the principles espoused by Te Haahi Ringatu (the Ringatu Church) and sought to persuade the Māori people to recognise that under the new MMP voting system it was possible for Māori to hold the balance of power if Māori was able to unite under a common umbrella. The party contested the with six list candidates. In the the Māori parties of Te Tawharau,

Mana Māori According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

and Piri Wiri Tua formed a political alliance to hold the balance of power. Te Tawharau did not put forward a party list and the 1999 alliance did not win any seats, the next step in that journey of Māori political awakening was reached in 2005 with 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 ...

winning four of the

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

. While Te Tawharau has not formally been absorbed into the new

, as Te Tawharau has lapsed as a political organisation, the elements and people behind Te Tawharau supported the Māori Party. In 2007, Te Tawharau requested and received deregistration.

References

{{Historic New Zealand political parties Defunct political parties in New Zealand Māori political parties in New Zealand Christian political parties in New Zealand Political parties established in 1995 1995 establishments in New Zealand Political parties disestablished in 2007 2007 disestablishments in New Zealand