Latest news with #TāmakiMakarau
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Te Pāti Māori meeting tonight to decide candidate for upcoming Tāmaki Makarau by-election
A by-election for the Tāmaki Makarau seat has been sparked by the death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp two weeks ago. Photo: Supplied/ Te Pāti Māori Te Pāti Māori will meet on Thursday night to decide who will run in the upcoming Tāmaki Makarau by-election. The selection hui will take place at Hoani Waititi Marae at 6pm for Tāmaki electorate members only, with the successful candidate announced on Friday. The hui is not open to the public. The by-election was sparked by the death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp two weeks ago. Former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara announced on social media this week she would seek the party's nomination for the seat. Another putting their name forward is youth worker Te Kou o Rehua Panapa , whose candidacy was announced on the Opaea Marae Facebook page, the marae where Kemp was laid to rest. "In dedication to our beloved Mareikura, Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, and with the full support of her whānau, we are proud to offer our support to Te Kou o Rehua Panapa, who will be standing as a candidate for Member of Parliament in Tāmaki Makaurau," the post read. "A dedicated kaimahi to our Mareikura, Te Kou has worked alongside her for many years, serving the people of Tāmaki with unwavering commitment and aroha. Te Kou will carry her legacy forward, committing his kaupapa to continuing and completing the important mahi she began." In a video to posted to Instagram, Toitū te Tiriti kaikōrero Eru Kapa-Kingi ruled out running for the seat after receiving messages from people encouraging him to do so. "Just to make it absolutely clear to everyone, I will not be running for the Tāmaki seat in the upcoming by-election," Kapa-Kingi said. "Still not for me, still my focus at the moment is my whānau and the wellbeing of my baby boy and being a present pāpā and showing up and building my 'hāwaikī itī' i roto i taku whare, i waenga i taku whānau." He was "still on the kaupapa" just in "different" ways, he said. Kapa-Kingi was number nine on the party list for the 2023 general election, and number 10 in 2020. He was once a parliamentary staffer for Te Pāti Māori and is a teaching fellow at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Law. His mother, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is currently MP for Te Tai Tokerau. A potential candidate could be the party's lawyer, Tania Waikato, who told RNZ's Mata programme she was talking to "more than one" political party about running for Parliament in 2026. Tania Waikato speaking to RNZ's Mata programme. Photo: MATA / RNZ The Tauranga-based lawyer said she had previously been hesitant about running, but seeing the "disgusting" debate around the suspension of three Te Pāti Māori members prompted her to put her hat in the ring. "I'm going to probably be the most difficult to understand and difficult to predict politician that you have ever seen, because I do things in accordance with what my tīpuna tell me. And I will never align myself to any particular organisation or any particular kaupapa if my tīpuna are not saying to me, 'That is tika'. "That is what I will always do regardless of where I am, so it makes me difficult in some ways because I have a higher power to answer to. And I will not compromise that," Waikato said. Labour's Peeni Henare previously held the seat , before being beaten by Kemp in the 2023 election by a slim margin of 42 votes. Henare had held the seat since 2014, beating out the then-Māori Party's Rangi McLean. RNZ understands Labour's internal nomination process is underway and will close on Friday. The Prime Minister is yet to announce the date for a by-election. However, the Speaker of the House published the notice of vacancy in the Gazette on Wednesday, meaning the Governor-General will issue a writ within 21 days of 9 July, instructing the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct the by-election. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
MPs pay tribute to Takutai Tarsh Kemp
Wreaths on the House seat of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith MPs woke on Thursday morning to the sad news that one of their contemporaries, the MP for Tāmaki Makarau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp had died on Wednesday evening aged just 50. The first term MP for Te Pāti Māori had taken leave from her Parliamentary duties last year after being diagnosed with kidney disease, but had been back at Parliament just a week prior to her death. As a mark of respect, the sitting day on Thursday adjourned early for the week. Before adjourning, the House was able to hear tributes from colleagues, who offered memories, condolences, reflections, and eulogies. The first three speeches - from National's Tama Potaka, Labour's Peeni Henare, and The Green's Teanau Tuiono - were almost entirely in te reo Māori. Labour Party MP, Peeni Henare during Parliament's obituaries for fallen Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith Tuiono, chose to split his call with his colleague, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, who said. "That smile and sense of humour and the warmth of Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp will never leave us. She was a thoughtful, kind person who lived her values through her service. …In moments like this, I think that we are all gravely reminded of how fragile life is, but how the great stabiliser can indeed be love and integrity. Moe mai rā e te tuahine." Act Leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour was next to speak. "She was a true representative, and in her brief time in Parliament, she made a firm impression. She left no doubt about what she was here to do and who she was here to serve, and she did that even while facing and battling a chronic illness." New Zealand First MP, Shane Jones during Parliament's obituaries for fallen Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith This is the second death of an MP in as many years, with the Greens' Efeso Collins passing away in February of last year. New Zealand First's Shane Jones, acknowledged this and shared his perspective that in sobering moments such as a death, we're reminded what politics is ultimately about. "Yes, politics is a contest, but at the base of politics is the pursuit of humanity, and today we respect the contribution that this woman has made to our nation in the various pathways her life has taken her down. Perhaps, as reflective of her personality, I can say nothing better than what is outlined in Romans: 'Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.' Farewell, Takutai." Labour's Willie Jackson was the last to speak before the House adjourned early, perhaps lifting spirits a bit with lighthearted anecdotes that were also quite genuine reflections about how, in Māori politics, an enduring whanaungatanga or connection remains, even through political disagreement. "She was such a vivacious, passionate woman ... I was listening to Tama Potaka and that last committee we did - Tama was fronting it, and we were giving it to Tama Potaka at the Select Committee, and she had the last kōrero," he said. Labour Party MP, Willie Jackson during Parliament's obituaries for fallen Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith "It was very, very clear what she felt about her relation Tama, in the National Government, and Audrey Young put that in the Herald this morning. I thought that was fabulous ... because in many ways, as the minister knows, that sort of sums up Māori politics. We just can go to war sometimes. Tama can be terrible to myself and Peeni Henare, you know-terrible-and Shane Jones, and particularly Winston Peters. You know, we can destroy each other. We can destroy each other, and then, you wouldn't think it was the same people-we'll be having a cup of tea and a kai out the back at the marae. It's the nature of Māori politics. "When I look at Manurewa and I look at my brother Peeni Henare over here, who has almost been traumatised by this, you would not have believed that a war went on in South Auckland for that Tāmaki-makau-rau seat. You would not believe how tough it was-the different sides-how passionate people were, and people would have thought that they would have been enemies for ever. But their whanaungatanga ties them for ever and a day. "I think that's the difference with Māori politics. We will always be tied by our toto, by our whakapapa, and by our identity, and Peeni Henare and Tarsh Kemp couldn't have been any closer. He's shed a few tears for Tarsh today. We all have shed a few tears for Tarsh-a passionate, vivacious, magnificent woman-and it's only right that we honour her today." At the conclusion of the speeches, all MPs stood to sing the waiata Whakaaria Mai, before the House was adjourned until Tuesday, 15 July. You can listen to the audio version of this story by clicking the link at the top of the page. *RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
RNZ News
26-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
'Believe in you, believe in me, believe in Māori': Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp dead at 50
Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp died in the early hours of Thursday morning, only a few hours after returning to her home in Auckland from Parliament. Kemp, 50, founded the Rangatahi Mental Health Youth Hub in partnership with the University of Auckland, served as Director of Hip Hop International New Zealand, managed the first crew from Aotearoa to qualify for the World Hip Hop Championships in the US and lead Manurewa Marae as its chief executive through the Covid-19 pandemic. Kemp was recognised as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to youth and street dance in 2021. She had taken leave from Parliament last year, following a diagnosis of kidney disease and had recently celebrated her 50th birthday. Running as the Te Pāti Māori candidate for the Tāmaki Makarau Māori electorate in 2023, Kemp only narrowly beat out Labour incumbent Peeni Henare by a margin of 42 vote, following a recount, to win the seat. In her maiden speech, Kemp spoke about her early life in South Taranaki. Kemp was the first born child of her parents Clark Karaka Kauika-Stevens and Ngaire Anne Te Hirata Kauika-Stevens. "Both my parents were hard-working, community focused, whānau-driven, and very, very loving parents. I want to acknowledge my parents, today, who are here. This is where my whānau ora seed was sown," Kemp said "My father enlisted in the Corps of the Royal New Zealand Engineers and was posted to Linton army camp in 1977. The following year, the waka pakanga of our whānau arrived-my sister Leaara Jade Tārete Tangituohu, tēnei te mihi nui ki a koe e taku tuahine." Named after her father's mother, Takutai Moana Nora Wirihana Tawiki, Kemp said was raised by her grandparents from the age of seven till she was eleven - a common practice in te ao Māori - and returned to her people of Ngāti Pourua and her marae Takirau. Kemp described her nana as her "world". "This was the start of my marae upbringing as I lived there and attended Ngamatapouri School. Takirau is where I was immersed in tikanga Māori and brought up to manaaki people, particularly under the leadership of my grandmother." "She made many decisions for the mahi that needed to be done, even from her bed," Kemp said. Takutai Tarsh Kemp said caring for whānau ran through her blood. Photo: Supplied/ Te Pāti Māori Kemp was a devout follower of the Rātana faith and shared her whānau's connection to it's prophet and founder, Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. "My papa's mother Huatahi Peina Hawira and my great-grandfather's sister Mariana Hekenui were part of the rōpū that travelled with Tahu Potiki Wiremu Rātana on his world tour in 1924. These two kuia remind me of my own whānau connections to a significant piece of history concerning the Tiriti grievances," Kemp said. "Rātana carried a petition on the Treaty of Waitangi and land confiscations to present to King George V and the League of Nations. Rātana was searching for mutual remedies for the troubles that the government put on Māori." As her children grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau, Kemp said, they developed a love for hip-hip dance, a love she said "saved our lives". "I went from the "dance mom" to become the Hip Hop International New Zealand Director, travelling the world through the World Hip Hop Dance Championship for 20 years." Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers As chief executive of Manurewa Marae, Kemp and her team delivered 65,000 vaccinations through the Covid-19 pandemic. "It takes courage, bravery to stand up for what your community needs and to navigate tikanga through uncertain times. To all our kaimahi who are here, and those that couldn't travel, who have continued to hold the front line for our people, I mihi to you and your continuous, unconditional aroha for our community." "I will never forget the mahi that our marae did and what we stood for." Being a "grassroots marae girl", Kemp said caring for whānau ran through her blood. "Our future in Tāmaki-makau-rau and across the motu is on the right path with our 'to Māori, for Māori, by Māori' approach. I would like to recognise the 'Proud to be Māori' movement of Te Pāti Māori that has supported six unapologetic Māori voices into this Whare. We will not let you down, and I can promise you we will never be quiet." "Never forget: we are magic people. We live in an Aotearoa hou. We will walk and talk and we are proud to be Māori. Toitū te reo Māori, toitū te whenua, toitū Te Tiriti. Believe in you, believe in me, believe in Māori," Kemp said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Does the underground still exist? A conversation with Samuel Te Kani
Does an underground still exist? Or is it just one more consumer choice in an ever growing banquet of ticketed events? Testing this may be Tāmaki Makarau's biennial Festival of Live Arts (FOLA) , at the Basement Theatre from June 11 to 15. The festival dubs itself the black sheep of the Auckland festival family and "a haven for misfits, punks and menaces of the art world". Indeed, in an accompanying media release artistic directors Nisha Madhan and Julia Croft state that "neoliberal and capitalist structures have failed to create space for Live Art, and artists in general". Someone never shy to comment, Samuel Te Kani has two projects as part of FOLA. Of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Porou, Te Kani is an art critic, thinker, erotic science fiction author, filmmaker and a self-described K Road icon. Firstly, online from Wednesday he is reshowing a video essay, Surviving the Necropolis: an artists guide and then on Friday is a free live event with his cohost on podcast Rats in the Gutter , comedian Johanna Cosgrove. The Devil Wears Rats sees the pair provide a live commentary for a screening of the major motion picture The Devil Wears Prada . Mark Amery spoke to Samuel Te Kani.
