MPs across the political spectrum stepped into Parliament to officially kick off the new term.
Returning for her second term after successfully retaining her seat with 13,505 votes, comfortably ahead of Labour counterpart Kerrin Leoni, who finished with 6,007 votes, Oriini Kaipara spoke with Te Ao Māori News, expressing gratitude to voters in Tāmaki Makaurau and across all five Māori seats secured by the party.
Kaipara reflected on the party’s strong showing, “Me kī pēnei, e waimarie ana i te ekenga o te tokorima o mātou o te pāti Māori ki tua o te taumata i whakaarohia e te nuinga.”
She turned to acknowledge the fresh faces entering Parliament alongside her, including Aperahama Edwards, who holds a slim 436 vote preliminary lead in Te Tai Tokerau with 8,484 votes over Green Party candidate Hūhana Lyndon’s 8,048 votes.
Kaipara shared, “E manawa rū ana i te mea kua tae mai anō a Te Tai Tokerau ki a mātou o Te Pāti Māori, ko wai ake? Ko Aperahama Edwards tērā... kāore roa ka whakataungia tūtūru ia ki roto i te whare nei ki waenga hoki i a mātou o Te Pāti Māori.”
Edwards, Chairman of the Ngātiwai Trust Board arrived at Parliament House backed by a large delegation of his iwi, hapū, and whānau for an official welcome in Matangireia, Parliament’s dedicated room for Māori affairs and historic gathering space for iwi.
Speakers including Kura Moehau welcomed the new Tai Tokerau MP, connecting his arrival directly to a long lineage of political movement.
Moehau said during the welcome today, “Kei Te Tai Tokerau, kei Ngāti Kuri, kei te Aupouri, kei Ngāti Kahu... e te whare o Ngāpuhi, haere mai koutou.”
Moehau referenced the historic 2004 foreshore and seabed hīkoi led by Hone Harawira, who was first elected to Parliament in 2005 as the Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau and served in the House until 2014.
Encouraging Edwards to carry that torch forward, Moehau challenged him, “Pērā ki a koe e tōku rangatira, e Aperahama, ko koe hei ārahi i te hīkoi nui o te motu nei.”
Even as Te Pāti Māori MPs settle into Wellington, the focus now turns to waiting for the final count while special votes are processed.
According to the Electoral Commission, an estimated 399,365 special votes nationwide, including 96,947 overseas ballots remain to be tallied.
As Kaipara concluded, “I tēnei wā he whakawhanaunga te mahi i tēnei rā te mea koinei te rā tuatahi... tāria te wā 27 o Nōema e tāri ana rātou katoa ngā hua o ngā pōtitanga motuhake kāore anō kia kautehia.”
