‘Straddling’ te ao M¯aori and P¯akeh¯a
Defence Minister and T¯amaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare has been at the forefront of the controversial M¯aori Health Authority. He reveals why it’s so personal for him and what it’s like to belong to one of Aotearoa’s political dynasties
Peeni Henare missed his parliamentary swearing-in in 2014. Instead, he was at his father’s hospital bedside. Erima Henare, a young 62, chair of the Ma¯ori Language Commission and revered figure throughout the country, had just suffered a massive heart attack.
Seven months later, soon after Erima Henare left a meeting in Parliament, he had another. This time it was fatal.
“I remember the call while the House was sitting, that he’d collapsed and died, just after he had been in this very building,” Henare tells the Herald from his ministerial office.
“The tissues are there for a reason. It’s a painful reminder every day I come into this place. He was here the night he died.”
His father never got to see him become a minister. But it was the memory, and knowledge that his father was one of many Ma¯ori dying before their time, that has spurred Henare through his health reform work.
Henare is speaking to the Herald after a Budget delivered over $1 billion for Ma¯ori-focused initiatives — the majority for getting the Ma¯ori Health Authority under way and for Ma¯ori housing initiatives. Both are Henare’s areas of ministerial responsibility.
Ma¯ori Development Minister Willie Jackson called Henare the “billion-dollar man” during the Ma¯ori caucus’ post-Budget hui, crediting him for many of the gains.
Henare’s entry into politics came with a bit of luck: His main rival for the Ta¯maki Makaurau seat in 2014 was broadcaster Shane Taurima, who withdrew after using TVNZ offices for party meetings.
But it also came with a sense of inevitability. His wha¯nau are one of the nation’s political dynasties.
He follows in the footsteps of his greatgrandfather Taurekareka Henare (1878-1940), who represented the conservative Reform Party for 24 years, and his uncle Tau Henare, who represented New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the National Party over two nine-year stints.
Members of the Henare wha¯nau have put in 46 years as politicians over the ages, making them New Zealand’s fifth-longest-serving family.
What makes Peeni Henare a bit different is that he is the first one to stand for Labour. Henare said choosing Labour caused a “few conversations” in the wha¯nau.
The farming-oriented Nga¯ti Hine had long been a “blue hapu¯”, but Henare said for him it was about values and achieving the best outcomes for Ma¯ori.
In particular, he was focused on turning around the “terrible state” of Ma¯ori housing and healthcare.
After Labour’s massive election result in 2020, Henare made no secret of his wish to be Health Minister — a high ambition for a then relatively inexperienced minister.
It was instead given to Andrew Little, but Henare was made an associate minister, in charge of Ma¯ori health. Getting the Ma¯ori Health Authority over the line was his proudest moment so far, he said.
“I’ll never forget the Prime Minister saying to me after the election, ‘Well, you have got a very short window to get the work done’. So I did not have much of a break over summer.
“Growing up in a health system that has so poorly served our people, the authority is about reclaiming Ma¯ori health. For me it is one of those moments, I’ll always remember where I was on April 21, 2021.”
Defence also holds a special place for Henare. As minister he points to the parallels with his koro, the late Sir James Henare, who led the Ma¯ori Battalion at the end of World War II and encouraged young Ma¯ori to enlist.
Henare says Sir James was one of the greatest influences on his life.
The farmer and iwi leader was a passionate advocate of Ma¯ori rights, culture, and te reo, founding kohanga reo, but also was a strong believer in Aotearoa’s bicultural foundations.
“He talked of a bicultural New Zealand foundation for a multicultural future. He sounded like an Englishman, spoke the Queen’s English, but was a renowned Ma¯ori orator.
“He was clear to us, you had to walk in both worlds.”
As a mainstream Labour politician, Henare sometimes has to bear the brunt of Ma¯ori dissatisfaction.
In 2019 he and Jackson — both with strong Ma¯ngere roots — arrived at Ihuma¯tao days after the protests erupted and the occupation swelled.
The anger at what was seen as a betrayal by the
Government for allowing the planned housing development on the site to go ahead was visceral.
When Jackson spoke, he matched fire with fire.
But Henare’s face rarely shifted from a stern stare. He was listening.
When he responded — in te reo Ma¯ori — the emotion and passion was raw, and people listened.
It is known now the Government would have progressed a deal much faster had NZ First not blocked it.
Henare and his Ma¯ori caucus colleagues instead had to put up with accusations of betraying their Ma¯ori roots for the Crown, in the knowledge a deal was waiting in the wings.
It’s a tightrope many mainstream Ma¯ori politicians have to walk, appeasing te ao Ma¯ori and te ao Pa¯keha¯, but one Peeni Henare appears to walk with ease.
“I think that’s one of my greatest strengths, being able to straddle both worlds, to take criticism on marae and respond in te reo, to bear the heat of the fire but to be comfortable there where the two worlds meet.”
That ability is also highlighted by those who have watched Henare grow into his role. Ma¯ori political commentator and ex-Labour campaign manager Shane Te Pou was part of the team who first selected him.
Te Pou said he had been impressed by Henare’s rise through the party ranks, becoming a minister first in 2017 of Wha¯nau Ora and then getting bigger portfolios after 2020.
“He is very well respected, has the ear of the Prime Minister and is a close confidante of hers, even assisting with her reo,” Te Pou said.
His values were “quite clearly formed living, breathing te ao Ma¯ori”.
“He was brought up speaking the language,” Te Pou said. “His father and mother were fluent. Not many Ma¯ori MPs have lived and breathed it to the extent Peeni has.”
Henare, of Nga¯puhi and Nga¯ti Hine, grew up in a household steeped in Ma¯ori and mainstream politics.
A twin, he and his four siblings grew up mostly in Northland. However, they moved all around the country for his father’s work with the Department of Ma¯ori Affairs.
There was even a stint in Los Angeles, where visitors included his aunty, former National MP Hekia Parata, then a diplomat, and then Prime Minister David Lange.
By the time he got to Whanga¯rei Boys’ High School he and his twin brother had attended 14 schools.
He attended ko¯hanga reo, part of the first cohort, and they spoke only te reo Ma¯ori at home.
“People say it’s hard to learn when you are so unsettled, moving around, but we had education at home, histories, culture and we only spoke te reo.”
Henare describes himself as a “good student”, with good grades, and a cultural and sporting leader.
When Henare was 16 his partner at the time became pregnant, and they had a son together.
It was a turning point for Henare. “It forced me to get a bit of perspective. My focus went from making the First XV to what I could do to support my kid and family.”
He almost left school but for supportive teachers and wha¯nau. The following year he was head boy.
He still has a good relationship with his son and the boy’s mother.
Henare now also has two daughters, aged 8 and 9, through his first and only wife. They split shortly after he entered Parliament and he now has a new partner.
After high school Henare studied law, politics and te reo at the University of Auckland. He disliked law, and graduated with a BA.
Before entering Parliament Henare worked with his iwi, and even did a spot of sports commentating, the highlight being the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final in te reo.
Over his seven years in Parliament, Henare, 41, said he had “matured a lot”.
His colleagues — and opponents — described his style as “laid-back”.
Ministerial colleague, older second cousin and his former Form 2 teacher at Bay of Islands Intermediate School Kelvin Davis said Henare had a similar personality at age 12: “Laidback, but with an ability in te reo and culture that was second to none.”
Davis speaks often about te arawhiti, the bridge, between the Ma¯ori and Pa¯keha¯ worlds.
“Peeni is a perfect example. He is as at home in Parliament as he is at home on the marae.”
John Tamihere, a former Labour minister and Henare’s recent Ma¯ori Party opponent in Ta¯maki Makaurau, said Henare’s relaxed style was his strength, and his weakness.
“He’s no firebrand politician. You might walk away from a hui none the wiser but he has a warm personality.”
Tamihere supported Henare in his 2014 and 2017 campaigns because of his friendship with Erima Henare.
“Peeni comes from pedigree, there were high expectations for him. His father and grandfather were some of the most high-achieving New Zealanders of their era.”
Some still have high expectations. Shane Te Pou sees even higher rungs for Henare — very high rungs indeed.
“I think he is a real possibility to be a Prime Minister. He’s had no massive missteps, handled his portfolios well, and has time on his side.”
Henare himself won’t be drawn into musing on his future ambition.
“My priority at the moment is to use my current position as the MP of T¯amaki Makaurau and minister to serve my people — that is the goal now.”
Growing up in a health system that has so poorly served our people, the authority is about reclaiming M¯aori health.
Peeni Henare