Pages tagged with: maori mps

Between April and June 1868 the first four Maori MPs were elected to New Zealand's Parliament. Despite ongoing debate, the Maori seats remain a distinctive feature of this country's electoral landscape 140 years later.

Hear Clerk of the House T.D.H. Hall talk about Maori Members of Parliament using te reo in the House.

Assisted by two other Ratana-Labour MPs, Eruera Tirikatene and H.T. Ratana, Paraire Paikea drafted a scheme for an organisation to handle Maori recruitment and war-related activities.

When the Maori War Effort Organisation was established, the government had estimated that it would have a six-month life at a cost of £7,000. In 1943 Paikea asked that the timeframe be extended. He reasoned that as well as being essential to meet the country's wartime needs, the MWEO had a key role in post-war Maori development.

Today there are 120 MPs in New Zealand's Parliament, which is a far cry from the 37 who met for the first time in Auckland in 1854.

Minister of Native Affairs Rex Mason, wanting to curb the Maori War Effort Organisation's expansion or entrenchment, in 1944 initiated moves to introduce to the Native Department a system of welfare officers.

Eruera Tirikatene was the Member of Parliament for Southern Maori from 1932 to 1967 and leader of the Maori War Effort Organisation after the death of Paraire Paikea in 1943.

The fall and rise of Maori seats in the 20th century

Leaders of Maori society have represented their people in the House, including Maui Pomare, James Carroll, Matiu Rata and, most famously, Apirana Ngata.

Te reo (the Maori language) came into Parliament with the first Maori MPs, elected in 1868.

The three years following the 1993 referendum, before the first MMP election in 1996, were ones of transition and uncertainty.

Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana publicising the Ratana movement at Taupo.

Wi Pere was a strong critic of the government's Maori land policies in his time as a Member of Parliament

Biography of this prominent Nga Puhi leader and Maori MP.

Biography of a prominent Maori MP

Photograph of Maori Member of Parliament Henare Kaihau

Cabinet Minister and twice acting Prime Minister, James Carroll’s main aim in Parliament was to empower Maori and secure a role for them in the economic life of the country

In the 1870s Hori Kerei Taiaroa, the member for Southern Maori, unsuccessfully argued for an increase in the number of Maori districts.

Apirana Ngata (1874–1950) was the key Maori politician in the early 20th century and a significant leader in the Maori community.

Members of the War Administration, formed in 1942

Mete Kingi Te Rangi Paetahi was one of the first four Maori Members of Parliament, elected in 1868.

Ngati Kahungunu leader James Carroll was acting prime minister for periods in 1909 and 1911.

Panorama of the former Maori Affairs Committee Room. Includes commentary by Wiremu Haunui

Panorama of the Maori Affairs Committee Room/Maui Tikitiki-a-Taranga. Includes commentary by Wiremu Haunui, Kaiwhakamarama Reo for the Office of the Clerk