Rawiri Waititi has been co-leader of Te Pati Maori since 2020, alongside Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
39 Facts About Rawiri Waititi
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Rawiri Waititi has served as the Member of Parliament for Waiariki since 2020, when his election returned Te Pati Maori to the New Zealand Parliament following their defeat at the 2017 general election.
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An advocate of progressive political policies, Rawiri Waititi is a fluent Maori speaker, and is an iwi leader, Ringatu minister, and kapa haka exponent.
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Rawiri Waititi has been prominent and vocal in his opposition to the policies towards Maori of the Sixth National Government of New Zealand since the 2023 general election.
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Rawiri Waititi was born in Opotiki, the eldest of four children.
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Rawiri Waititi spent his first 12 years living in Whangaparaoa, in the eastern Bay of Plenty near Cape Runaway, and was schooled under the guidance of his kaumatua and his hapu, Te Whanau a Kauaetangohia.
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Rawiri Waititi did his secondary schooling at Rutherford High School alongside another politician, Simon Bridges.
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Rawiri Waititi is of the Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngai Tai, Te Whakatohea, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Te Arawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Ranginui iwi, and has "firm links" to Ngati Porou.
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Rawiri Waititi is a father of five and husband to Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, the daughter of John Tamihere.
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In 2016, following Kingi Tuheitia Paki's speech backing the Maori Party, Rawiri Waititi announced he would be supporting the Maori Party.
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On 23 February 2020, Rawiri Waititi was announced as the Maori Party candidate for Waiariki for the 2020 election.
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At the 2020 election, Rawiri Waititi successfully unseated the Labour MP Tamati Coffey, winning by 836 votes, and became the MP for Waiariki.
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At a special general meeting of the party on 28 October 2020, Rawiri Waititi was confirmed as the male co-leader, replacing his father-in-law, John Tamihere.
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Rawiri Waititi described Mallard's decision and the parliamentary system as unfair.
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Rawiri Waititi instead wore a hei tiki necktie, which he described as Maori business attire.
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Rawiri Waititi had earlier criticised wearing neckties, describing them as "colonial noose[s]" during his maiden speech last year.
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When Rawiri Waititi attempted to ask Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis a supplementary question, Mallard denied him permission to speak since he was not wearing a tie.
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When Rawiri Waititi sought a point of order, Mallard ordered him to leave.
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Rawiri Waititi was supported by fellow Maori Party MP Ngarewa-Packer, who wore a tie in mockery of the rules.
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Rawiri Waititi accused Collins of racism and sought to raise a point of order about indigenous rights.
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When his point of order was denied by the Speaker Mallard, Rawiri Waititi performed a haka in protest, prompting the Speaker to order him to leave Parliament.
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Rawiri Waititi left with Maori Party co-leader Ngarewa-Packer and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, who expressed solidarity with him.
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In October 2021, Rawiri Waititi criticised the Government's abandonment of its previous COVID-19 elimination strategy and expressed concerns that the new COVID-19 Protection Framework was insufficient in protecting Maori and boosting the Maori vaccination rate.
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Rawiri Waititi objected to the holiday on the grounds that no similar event had taken place for any deceased Maori leaders and claimed it was "example of colonialism in practice".
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Rawiri Waititi further stated after a week of avoiding commenting on republicanism that New Zealand "must acknowledge the brutal genocidal and ongoing impact of colonialism, of the imperial project that was overseen by the House of Windsor and its forebears".
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Rawiri Waititi's remarks were criticised as insensitive and disrespectful by National Party MPs Michael Woodhouse and Judith Collins.
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In mid July 2023, Rawiri Waititi joked about poisoning ACT Party leader David Seymour during Te Pati Maori's annual conference.
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On 29 August 2023, Rawiri Waititi was suspended from Parliament for 24 hours after referring to suppressed court proceedings while asking a question during parliamentary proceedings.
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Rawiri Waititi denied that his party's sports policy' comments about "Maori genetic makeup being stronger than others" were racist.
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Rawiri Waititi received 21,500 votes out of 28,958 for an outright majority.
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Rawiri Waititi performed a haka in the chamber prior to swearing his oath of allegiance to King Charles III.
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In mid-March 2023, Rawiri Waititi introduced a member's bill to amend the Goods and Services Tax Act to remove the Goods and Services Tax from all food products and non-alcohol products.
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Rawiri Waititi voted in favour of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Amendment Act 2022, which established safe zones around abortion providers.
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Rawiri Waititi has supported the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022, which banned conversion therapy.
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In March 2022, Rawiri Waititi supported the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, which created an autonomous sanctions regime in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Rawiri Waititi later called the conflict a "proxy war for the United States", stating that New Zealand should stay out of the conflict.
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Rawiri Waititi said that New Zealand was acting like a puppet state of the United States, a statement that saw disagreement from then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other political leaders across the aisle.
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In February 2024, Rawiri Waititi has advocated for Maori self-governance, stating that Maori have a right to govern themselves.
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Rawiri Waititi has called for the establishment of a Maori Parliament.