Labour says Māori representation remains firmly embedded within the party’s leadership ranks after unveiling its 2026 election list.
Senior Māori MPs have climbed the rankings and one high-profile new Māori candidates is now positioned to enter Parliament.
Labour Māori Development spokesperson, Willie Jackson, is at number four, while Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel has surged 11 places to ninth, placing her inside the party’s top ten for the first time.
The party’s Te Tai Tokerau candidate and former Minister, MP Willow-Jean Prime has moved up to seventh on the list, while Northcote MP Shanan Halbert has climbed nine places to 19th.
New Hauraki-Waikato candidate Kingi Kiriona, a member of the Waitangi Tribunal and Deputy Chair of Te Māngai Pāho, enters the list at 22, while Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Te Pūoho Kātene sits at 34.
Kiriona will be up against Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke who is confirmed as Te Pāti Māori’s Hauraki-Waikato candidate for the November general election.
A 22 ranking confirms he will highly likely be making his way into Parliament, if he loses that electorate race.
The list comes as Labour attempts to rebuild its support across the Māori electorates after Te Pāti Māori’s strong 2023 result, which saw the party win six of the seven Māori seats.
Labour retained just one Māori electorate, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, held by Cushla Tangaere-Manuel.
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Kiriona, who was at the party’s stand-up today alongside Te Pūoho Kātene, said the list shows Labour is prioritising Māori leadership within the party.
“Pēnei ai tō māua [Te Pūoho Kātene] waimarie i runga i te rārangi, ā, ka mutu ki te āta titiro tātou ki te rārangi ka mārama te kite e whakamānawatia nuitia ana e te Māori i runga i te rārangi, e toru ngā Māori kei te rārangi tahi ki te tekau. Kei te rārangi, kei te wāhanga arataki o te pāti, nō reira he tohu nui tērā.”
He noted that Māori candidates were represented throughout Labour’s upper rankings.
“Tokorima kei roto i te rua tekau, ko māua, anā hei hoa mō ēnā kei runga i te rārangi. Nō reira kei konei e tū ana i runga i te ngākau whakaiti i tēnā momo whakaaro nui mai.”
Despite their list positions, Kiriona said Labour’s focus remained firmly on winning back Māori electorates.
“Kei konei māua ki te whakataetae mō o māua tūru, nā te mea kei te pīrangi o tātou iwi ki tētahi kāwanatanga kāore nei ōna raruraru.”
Kātene agreed, saying the campaign would ultimately be won or lost on the ground in communities rather than through list rankings alone.
“Āe, me ū ki ngā tūru. Kia āta noho ai ngā hapori, kei konei māua, mātou katoa e kaha whakamahia ana ki o rātou taha hei pana i tēnei kāwanatanga, mō tātou katoa.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has repeatedly signalled that reclaiming Māori support will be a key battleground of the 2026 election, as Te Pāti Māori attempts to reset after 9 months of turmoil.
Speaking after the list release, Kiriona said Labour has been having strong engagement across the Māori electorates.
“We’ve seen a big surge in volunteer support in the Māori electorates. We’ve got some really active ground game. That is how we will win those seats back.”
He said Labour was sensing growing appetite for political change and that further policy announcements aimed at voters would be released in the coming weeks.
Te rārangi o te Rōpū Reipa 2026:
1. Chris Hipkins
2. Carmel Sepuloni
3. Barbara Edmonds
4. Willie Jackson (up from 5)
5. Megan Woods (down from 4)
6. Ayesha Verrall
7. Willow-Jean Prime (up from 8)
8. Vanushi Walters (up from 12)
9. Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (up from 20)
10. Kieran McAnulty (down from 7)
11. Rachel Brooking (up from 17)
12. Ginny Andersen (down from 9)
13. Rakesh Naidoo - kaitono hōu
14. Tangi Utikere (down from 11)
15. Jan Tinetti (down from 10)
16. Damien O’Connor (up from 18)
17. Jo Luxton (down from 15)
18. Priyanca Radhakrishnan (down from 14)
19. Shanan Halbert (up from 28)
20. Chris Flatt - kaitono hōu
21. Reuben Davidson (down from 13)
22. Kingi Kiriona - kaitono hōu
23. Camilla Belich (down from 19)
24. Jenny Salesa (down from 23)
25. Glen Bennett (down from 21)
26. Sophie Handford - kaitono hōu
27. Deborah Russell (down from 16)
28. Tracey McLellan (down from 22)
29. Max Harris - kaitono hōu
30. Warrick Cleine - kaitono hōu
31. Ibrahim Omer - returning candidate, lost Wellington central listed at 37th in 2023
32. Anae Neru Leavasa - returning candidate, lost Takanini listed at 48th in 2023
33. Georgie Dansey (down from 32)
34. Te Pūoho Kātene - kaitono hōu
35. Naisi Chen - returning list candidate, listed at 33 in 2023
36. Dan Rosewarne (down from 31)
37. Rachel Boyack (down from 27)
38. Helen White (down from 30)
39. Ingrid Leary (down from 31)
40. Phil Twyford (down from 25)
41. Arena Williams (down from 24)
42. Lemauga Lydia Sosene (down from 31)
43. Kerrin Leoni - kaitono hōu
44. Toni Boynton - returning candidate, lost Waiariki listed at 39th in 2023
45. Hannah Pia Baral - kaitono hōu
46. Angela Roberts - returning candidate, lost Taranaki-King Country listed at 35th in 2023
47. Estefania Muller-Palarés - returning candidate, lost Whangaparaoa listed at 55th in 2023
48. Anahila Kanongata’a - returning candidate, lost Papakura listed at 34th in 2023
49. Gary Payinda - kaitono hōu
50. Alex Hedley - kaitono hōu
51. Craig Renney - kaitono hōu
52. George Hampton - returning candidate, lost North Shore listed at 41st in 2023
53. Dominik Yanzick - kaitono hōu
54. Rory Paterson - kaitono hōu
55. Ashleigh Latimer - kaitono hōu
56. Rata Jamieson - kaitono hōu
57. Naresh Perinpanayagam - kaitono hōu
58. Peter McDonald - kaitono hōu
59. Amanda Clinton-Gohdes - kaitono hōu
60. Myra Williamson - returning candidate, lost Hamilton West listed at 62nd in 2023
61. Kharag Singh - returning candidate, lost Botany listed at 66th in 2023
62. Janice Lee - kaitono hōu
63. Sam Collins - kaitono hōu
64. Sange Malama - kaitono hōu
65. Rhieve Grey - kaitono hōu
66. Karl Severinsen - kaitono hōu
67. Henrietta Hunkin-Tagaloa - kaitono hōu
68. Fisher Wang - kaitono hōu
69. Brendan McEnroe - kaitono hōu
70. Campbell Matthews - kaitono hōu
71. David Pattemore - kaitono hōu
72. Nathaniel Howe - kaitono hōu
