Maipi-clarke youngest MP in 170yrs after upset win
New Te Pa¯ ti Ma¯ ori MP, 21, unseats Mahuta
The Ma¯ori seat of Haurakiwaikato is set to have a new MP, the youngest in 170 years, with 21-year-old Hanara¯whiti Maipi-clarke unseating
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia
Mahuta.
In preliminary results, Hanarawhiti Maipi-clarke, of Te Pa¯ ti Ma¯ ori, garnered 8825 votes and Mahuta 7459.
Mahuta was elected to the Tainui seat in 2002. It was renamed Haurakiwaikato in 2008, and she has been the incumbent since.
Maipi-clarke sits fourth on Te Pa¯ti Maori’s list, and despite a recent poll that had the newcomer trailing Mahuta by 4 per cent, none of the experts spoken to by the NZ Herald had Nanaia Mahuta losing in Haurakiwaikato.
Maipi-clarke is the niece of a pioneer of the Ma¯ori language movement, Hana Te Hemara, who delivered the Ma¯ ori language petition on the steps of Parliament in 1972.
She is also the granddaughter of Taitimu Maipi, the Nga¯ Tamatoa member who took to the Captain
Hamilton statue in its namesake city with a hammer and red paint in 2018, challenging its colonial legacy and Hamilton’s role in the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.
Her win in Hauraki-waikato meant Mahuta has been ousted from Parliament, as she wasn’t on the list.
Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Mahuta said she had much to ponder.
“Now I’m going to take stock and obviously spend time with wha¯nau.
“Wha¯nau is the hugest sacrifice you make when you serve over such a long period of time, so they’re looking forward to having me to themselves for a while and then we’ll map out next steps.”
Mahuta said she had concerns a National/act Government could impact progress that was made for Ma¯ori under the now-outgoing Government.
“[In this election] there was a lot of challenges in terms of people learning what change means. We were very clear right from the get-go that a National and
Act Government would turn back the clock in a number of significant gains that have been made for Ma¯ori.”
But the people had spoken, she said.
Maipi-clarke was in the news recently after an alleged break-in at her home, which may have been politically motivated.