1. Melissa Heni Mekameka Whaitiri was born on 11 January 1965 and is a New Zealand politician and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives.
22 Facts About Meka Whaitiri
1. 2.
Meka Whaitiri was first elected to Parliament in the 2013 Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election for the Labour Party.
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Meka Whaitiri's parents were Wirangi Wiremu Whaitiri, a Korean War veteran, and Mei Whaitiri, who was the model used for the Pania of the Reef statue in Napier in 1954.
4.
Meka Whaitiri's father was a native speaker of te reo Maori who taught the language to his daughter.
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Meka Whaitiri has four siblings and was brought up in the Hastings suburb of Whakatu by a whanau of mostly freezing workers.
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Meka Whaitiri first worked at a freezing works before obtaining a master's degree in education from Victoria University of Wellington.
7.
Meka Whaitiri was selected by the Silver Ferns as a non-travelling reserve player.
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Meka Whaitiri later worked for the Maori Women's Welfare League before returning to the Department of Labour as deputy secretary.
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Meka Whaitiri worked as an adviser in Horomia's office when he was Minister of Maori Affairs.
10.
Meka Whaitiri is openly lesbian and was previously in a relationship with Kiri Allan.
11.
Meka Whaitiri defeated five others for the Labour nomination, including Hastings district councillor Henare O'Keefe, broadcaster Shane Taurima and Ngati Kahungunu board member Hayden Hape.
12.
Meka Whaitiri won the by-election with a majority of 1659 votes over Mana Party candidate Te Hamua Nikora.
13.
Right-wing political blogger David Farrar called the by-election a "good victory for Labour", and commented that Meka Whaitiri "could be one of the better Labour MPs".
14.
Meka Whaitiri retained Ikaroa-Rawhiti during the 2014 New Zealand general election by a margin of 4,673 votes.
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Meka Whaitiri was removed from her ministerial positions during an investigation and was not restored to them after the investigation found it "probable" that she had bruised the staffer.
16.
Meka Whaitiri additionally became Minister for Food Safety in June 2022 and the lead cyclone recovery minister in Hawke's Bay after Stuart Nash was dismissed from that role in March 2023.
17.
On 3 May 2023, Meka Whaitiri announced that she had officially notified the Speaker of the House that she had resigned from the Labour Party and was joining Te Pati Maori.
18.
Meka Whaitiri replaced Heather Te-Au Skipworth as Te Pati Maori's candidate for her electorate at the 2023 New Zealand general election.
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Meka Whaitiri's defection was welcomed by Te Pati Maori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and President John Tamihere.
20.
Some commentary around Meka Whaitiri's defection, including from Maori development minister Willie Jackson, focused on her apparent disappointment in not receiving a promotion into Cabinet in Hipkins' earlier reshuffles.
21.
Also on 3 May, Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe confirmed that Meka Whaitiri would serve until the election as an independent member of Parliament under standing order 35.5, which avoids the waka-jumping provisions of the Electoral Amendment Act 2018 from being invoked.
22.
Meka Whaitiri stood as the Te Pati Maori candidate in the Ikaroa-Rawhiti electorate for the 2023 New Zealand general election and was defeated by Labour's candidate Cushla Tangaere-Manuel by a margin of 2,843 votes.