Election 23 Student Guide: Māori electorate seat of Te Tai Tonga

An electorate boundary map for the Māori electorates. Graphic: Te Ara – The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand

Everything you need to know about New Zealand’s largest Māori electorate of Te Tai Tonga.

The boundary of Te Tai Tonga covers all of the Te Waipounamu South Island, Rakiura Stewart Island, and the Rēkohu/Wharekauri Chatham Islands. The electorate also includes most of Wellington and parts of the Hutt Valley as far north as Avalon.

In our last issue, Canta covered the choice between the Māori and General Electoral rolls. If you are enrolled on the Māori roll, and your registered address is within the Te tai Tonga electorate boundary, you can vote for the candidates that stand for this seat.

There are three candidates standing in Te Tai Tonga in the 2023 General Election, for Labour Rino Tirikātene, for Te Pāti Māori Tākuta Ferris, and for Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Rebecca Rae Robyn.

Labour Party MP Rino Tirikātene has held the Te Tai Tonga electorate since 2011 and is 21st on the party list. Tirikātene is the Minister for Courts and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth.

Tirikātene is a descendant of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Hine, prior to entering Parliament he had an early career as a commercial lawyer before working in Māori economic development roles.

Tirikātene said it was an honour to serve as an MP, and that he was proud to be a part of a Labour government which has made historic investments in Māori communities.

“But there’s more work to do, and as your representative I commit to it,” he said.

Tirikātene says his priorities are to grow the Māori export sector and industries to expand international trade, uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi to ensure equitable outcomes for Māori, as well as keeping rangatahi on a path that will let them live up to their potential.

Tākuta (Doc) Ferris is the Te Pāti Māori candidate for Te Tai Tonga and is fifth on the party list. Ferris is a Māori Advisor and academic with a Master of Mātauranga Māori and Bachelor of Māori Art from Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

Ferris, a descendant of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kuia, faced Tirikātene at the last election, ultimately losing out.

“I am honoured to stand again as the candidate for Te Tai Tonga. I will be a staunch champion and advocate for Māori independence,” he said.

Ferris’s priorities are an Aotearoa that is safe for tamariki and their families to grow in, one which authorities are not unfair to our children, where Māori can all feel a deep connection and a sense of belonging, as well as a place that recognises te Tiriti o Waitangi in the betterment of the collective.

Rebecca Rae Robyn, standing in Te Tai Tonga for the Legalise Cannabis party, is a musician and Cannabis Law Reform activist. Robyn studied in Māori Media and Communications at The Auckland University of Technology.

While studying, Robyn worked at Daktory New Lynn Auckland, a Cannabis Club which operated in open defiance of drug laws. She later went on to help setup of the Daktory Whangarei.