Brother sister duo Chelsea and Elite Reti are heading to Parliament as youth representatives.

Chelsea, a year 13 student at Te Wharekura o Te Rangi Āniwaniwa, will represent Green MP Huhana Lyndon, while Elite will fly the flag of Labour as Peeni Henare’s representative.

The siblings come from waka ama royalty in Aotearoa, a product of the Herbert whānau from Pawarenga, and both can claim Ngā Manu Kōrero pedigree, with Elite winning the senior Pei Te Hurinui section in 2023.

Chelsea recently stood at the regional Ngā Manu Kōrero competitions in Te Tai Tokerau.

She says it’s important that rangatahi Māori engage with politics.

“Engari, he mea nui mā mātou hei whai reo o te Māori o te rangatahi ki ngā wāhi tōrangapū o tenei ao.

“He whakaaro tā mātou, he kōrero tā mātou, nō reira, āe, tēnā pea ko tēnā te ara haere māku, kei roto i ngā wāhi tōrangapū o te ao?”

Elite says he never really thought about giving politics a go, saying the females in his whānau are more politically inclined.

“Ko te āhua o tōku whānau, ko ngā wāhine ngā tāngata ū rawa ki te ao porotiki.”

Ka tohea ngā take nui a te iwi Māori ki Pāremata

The Youth Parliament is a program designed to give rangatahi from around Aotearoa the opportunity to experience politics firsthand. Each member of Parliament selects their representative to attend Parliament for a few days, participate in robust debates, and engage in select committees.

For Green MP, Huhana Lyndon, the decision to elect the duo was easy, given the Reti whānau’s connections and pedigree.

“Ēnei mokopuna o te ākau roa o Ngāti Wai, puta ki te hiku o te ika, he koi, he māia, he kaha te reo o Te Tai Tokerau e haramai nei.”

Social media played a big part in the siblings’ decision to have a go at the Youth Parliament, with Chelsea saying she saw the opportunity on Facebook.

“I te tīmatanga i kite au i ngā whārangi pukamata a Huhana Lyndon, koia e kōrero ana kei te titiro ia mō tētahi rangatahi nō Te Tai Tokerau, nō Te Pāti Kākāriki ia. Ko tētahi o ōku tino hiahia, kia tino rongo i te reo o te rangatahi.”

According to Elite, he learned of his participation through a private message on social media. He says Peeni is a perfect example of a Māori role model from Te Tai Tokerau.

“Mōku, ka kite atu i a Peeni, anō ki a au ko ia tētahi tangata, i tupu mai i ngā whārua o te kāinga, mōhio wawe ki ngā kōrero o ngā tūpuna, ā, kua ū ki tēnei ara o te whawhai i ngā whawhai.”

The full Youth Parliament programme runs from April 28th to August 29th, 2025. It’s expected that over 120 rangatahi from around the motu will take part.