34 Facts About Hone Harawira

Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Maori activist and former parliamentarian.

Hone Harawira was elected to parliament as the member for the Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Maori Party candidate.

In 2011, following a rift with party colleagues, Harawira resigned from the Maori Party.

Hone Harawira subsequently announced the formation of the Mana Party, and then resigned from parliament to trigger the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, which he won as leader of the new party.

Hone Harawira was raised in West Auckland and attended St Stephen's School, a boarding school for Maori boys, and the University of Auckland.

Hone Harawira's mother descends from the Ngati Hau, Ngati Wai and Ngati Hine tribes, his father from Te Aupouri, Ngapuhi and Ngati Whatua, and he is part Pakeha.

Hone Harawira married Hilda Halkyard from the Ngati Haua hapu of Te Rarawa.

Hone Harawira played a role in Treaty of Waitangi issues, Maori language revitalisation, land occupations, and Maori broadcasting.

In 1979 Hone Harawira was part of He Taua, which confronted drunk University of Auckland engineering students who performed a parody of the "Ka Mate" haka with obscenities painted on their bodies.

Hone Harawira Taua responded to the cultural insult, which resulted in the engineering students sustaining several broken bones.

Hone Harawira stood in the 2005 general election as the Maori Party candidate for the seat of Te Tai Tokerau, and was elected to parliament.

Hone Harawira has remained outspoken, breaking protocol to open parliament in Maori; saying the former Australian Prime Minister "John Howard is a racist bastard" for his intervention into aboriginal affairs; being fined for leaving a planned parliamentary overseas tour to make headlines over aboriginal rights; and for continually challenging the government's Maori MPs for "not defending Maori rights".

Hone Harawira tried it on and he got his comeuppance.

Hone Harawira writes a regular column in the Kaitaia-based newspaper The Northland Age, entitled Ae Marika.

Hone Harawira's email was seen as racist and heavily criticised by the media, other members of parliament, and members of the public.

Ngapuhi activist David Rankin said Hone Harawira was "playing the race card every time he wants to 'create a smoke screen for other issues'".

On 7 February 2011 Hone Harawira was suspended from the Maori Party caucus, with a statement by Turia and Sharples saying they had lost faith in him after five years of ill-discipline.

Hone Harawira responded saying he wishes to stay with the party and stand for it in the 2011 election.

On 23 February 2011 Hone Harawira left the Maori Party after the party's disciplinary committee recommended his expulsion.

Hone Harawira's resignation coming following the Maori Party's support for the National Party, in particular over the Foreshore and Seabed issue, on 8 March 2011 Harawira missed the vote in parliament for the crucial second reading of the legislation which replaced the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Hone Harawira ran as the Mana Party's candidate and received 6065 votes, winning the seat with a majority of 1117.

Hone Harawira returned to parliament on 14 July 2011 during the Start of Day ceremony but was removed from the chamber by Speaker of the House Lockwood Smith for not pledging the oath of allegiance for newly elected members of parliament required by New Zealand law.

Hone Harawira was returned to parliament as the member for Te Tai Tokerau at the general election held on 26 November 2011.

Alongside his activity in parliament, Hone Harawira has kept his community work and activism.

Hone Harawira helped to organise a free breakfast for 2,000 school children in South Auckland.

Hone Harawira helped to lead protests against the privatisation of state-owned electricity companies and joined locked out meatworkers on their union picket line.

On 12 October 2012, Hone Harawira was arrested while peacefully protesting against the demolition of state houses in the Auckland suburb of Glen Innes.

In 2012, Hone Harawira topped a poll by the Maori Television current affairs programme, Native Affairs, which asked which politicians are fighting for Maori rights.

In September 2012 in a post on Facebook, Hone Harawira referred to Maori MPs in the ruling National Party as prime minister John Key's "little house niggers" in response to Key refusing to allow National party members to attend a hui on water rights.

The Internet Mana party was pinning its hopes of winning representation in parliament on Hone Harawira retaining his electoral seat.

Hone Harawira contested the Te Tai Tokerau seat for the Mana Movement in the 2017 general election.

At the election, Hone Harawira failed to unseat Davis who gained 12,673 votes to Hone Harawira's 7,866.

In June 2017, Hone Harawira called for a Policy of the Death penalty for any Chinese who import methamphetamine to New Zealand.

Hone Harawira criticised the government for not stopping tourists from entering the country prior to the border closure on 19 March 2020.