Tama William Potaka was born on 8 January 1976 and is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives representing the Hamilton West electorate.
16 Facts About Tama Potaka
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Tama Potaka is a member of the National Party and was chief executive of Ngai Tai ki Tamaki before entering Parliament.
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Tama Potaka has Maori ancestry through both of his parents, who were schoolteachers, and he affiliates to Ngati Hauiti, Whanganui, Taranaki, and Ngati Toa.
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Tama Potaka was educated at Huntley School and Te Aute College, where he was classmates with Julian Wilcox, Aidan Warren, Billy Weepu, Karl Te Nana and Alistair Toto and became dux in 1993.
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Tama Potaka received Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from Victoria University of Wellington in 1999, and with a scholarship earned a Master of Laws from Columbia University.
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Tama Potaka worked for Rudd, Watts and Stone, various public policy roles, with Lake Taupo Funds, and Bell Gully.
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Tama Potaka then spent seven years based in Hamilton, working as general manager corporate services for Tainui Group Holdings.
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Tama Potaka subsequently moved back to Auckland where he was a senior advisor at the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
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Tama Potaka was appointed chief executive officer of Ngai Tai ki Tamaki Trust in 2020.
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On 6 November 2022, Tama Potaka was selected as the National Party candidate for the 2022 Hamilton West by-election caused by the resignation of independent MP Gaurav Sharma who had been expelled from the Labour Party.
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On 10 December 2022, Tama Potaka won the election, beating Labour candidate Georgie Dansey.
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Tama Potaka gained 6974 votes compared to Dansey's 4541, a margin of 2433.
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On 19 January 2023, Tama Potaka was named as National's spokesperson for Maori development and associate spokesperson for housing.
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Tama Potaka defended Luxon's decision not to attend the national hui and disputed several of the speakers' claims that the Government was underpinned by White supremacy.
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In late November, Tama Potaka announced that the number of households living in emergency housing had dropped from 3,141 in December 2023 to 993 in October 2024.
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Tama Potaka married Ariana Paul in 2008, and they have three children.