11 Facts About Rino Tirikatene

Rino Tirikatene was born on 1972 and is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a former member of the House of Representatives.

Rino Tirikatene comes from a family with a strong political history.

Rino Tirikatene is the grandson of Sir Eruera Tirikatene and the nephew of Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan.

Rino Tirikatene stood for Labour in Te Puku O Te Whenua in the 1996 election.

Rino Tirikatene was selected to represent Labour in the Te Tai Tonga electorate on 1 December 2010.

Rino Tirikatene contested the Te Tai Tonga electorate against the incumbent, Rahui Katene of the Maori Party.

Labour's selection of Rino Tirikatene was criticised as cynical by Katene, as they are both from the same hapu, but this was rejected by Rino Tirikatene, as "all Maoris connect up somewhere along the line".

Rino Tirikatene won the electorate with a margin of 1,475 votes.

Rino Tirikatene significantly increased his majority in the 2014 election and again in 2017.

In Opposition for the six years of his Parliamentary career, Rino Tirikatene served variously as the Labour Party spokesperson for customs, fisheries, tourism and Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, as well as holding a number of associate spokesperson roles.

On 5 December 2023, Rino Tirikatene was granted retention of the title The Honourable, in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council.