The tragic death of Te Pāti Māori MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp, has sparked an outpouring of condolences, love, and tributes, not only to a leader and politician, but above all, to a cherished whānau member.

She was still working up until the night before she died, even in Parliament that very day, which Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi described as a true reflection of who she was: a servant leader. “She died as she lived.”

This morning, Te Pāti Māori confirmed her death in the early hours of Thursday.

In July 2024, Kemp announced a leave of absence from Parliament to manage her kidney disease, which required her to undergo dialysis treatment.

Māori Party President, John Tamihere, who convinced her to stand for the party in 2023 after being so impressed with her leadership, said her relationship with the Party continued to strengthen.

He said yesterday she flew back from Parliament after representing her people and communing with fellow Te Pāti Māori MPs.

“She then spent an hour and a half being briefed on matters involving her electorate and continued to post until later in the evening. She then went to bed and, as is the norm with home-based dialysis treatment, connected herself to her machine. Somewhere in the early hours of the morning, she passed away in her sleep,” Tamihere said.

He added they had walked many difficult miles together.

“Her lasting gift to Te Pāti Māori is that regardless of our personal challenges, we have to continue to answer the call to stand on the front line to make a better world for hers, yours, and my mokopuna,” he said.

Te Pāti Māori urged everyone to honour their tuahine, to honour her parents, her children, her mokopuna, and her whānau, and asked the people and the media to recognise the depth of their grief and to give them time and space to gather, mourn, and celebrate their māmā, their daughter, their nan.

Tears and condolences at Parliament

The flags were lowered to half-mast, and a condolences book was placed at Parliament as soon as the news of her death made its way to the halls of power, a mark of respect for the passing of Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp.

It was a stark contrast to what these halls usually see on a House sitting day. As the House opened, MPs paid their tributes.

E Pā tō Hau resonated throughout the House of Parliament, what is dubbed the Lion’s Den - but today, it carried a much different and sombre mood as MPs from across the political spectrum paid tribute to Takutai.

The mōteatea, led by Labour MP Peeni Henare, shifted the whole debating chamber, as all focus turned to the seat once filled just yesterday, now laden with a throwback Māori Party flag and covered in flowers.

Henare has been visibly impacted by Kemp’s death today, despite their tooth-and-nail race for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat in the 2023 election.

“It’s truly shocking. When you campaign together, when you work in a community together, you become more than colleagues. She called me brother, and I called her sister,” Henare told media today.

Cabinet Minister and whānaunga from Mōkai Pātea, Tama Potaka, began the tributes in the House today, moving that the House express its condolences to Kemp’s family. “Inanahi, kei kōnei koe, i tēnei rā, kei whea koe?” he asked the House.

Potaka spoke of their whakapapa ties but also her leadership and relentless work for her people, especially rangatahi.

NZ First MP Shane Jones acknowledged her role and leadership within te ao Māori and Aotearoa, reminding his colleagues that as political leaders, they must be united in times of tragedy.

“We know politics is a contest. But, at the base of politics is the pursuit of humanity, and we respect the contribution this woman has made to our nation and the various pathways that life has taken her down,” Jones added.

Labour MP Willie Jackson shared the same sentiment. He worked with her during both of their time in South Auckland and as what was described as Māori urban leaders. “Tarsh was a beautiful person and a wonderful soul, vivacious and beautiful, and was a big part of our movement in South Auckland.

“She was a leader in her own right before she came into politics… She was getting herself right, she was looking forward to the next election,” Jackson said.

As politicians reflect on her legacy, many hope the unity sparked by her passing is not fleeting, while her whānau, community, and iwi from across the motu journey to honour Takutai beyond the halls of power she served in until her last day.

Details for her tangihanga are yet to be confirmed.