Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

This post is about a personal heroin of mine: Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke (2002) is a New Zealand politician, representing Te Pāti Māori as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 New Zealand general election. She is the youngest MP since James Stuart-Wortley, who was elected in the 1853 election aged 20 years and 7 months.

Maipi-Clarke has ancestry in Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Te Āti Awa, and Ngāi Tahu. The broadcaster Potaka Maipi is her father. She is the grand-niece of Māori language activist Hana Te Hemara. Taitimu Maipi, whose activism contributed to the removal of the Captain Hamilton statue in 2020, is her grandfather. Wi Katene, the first Māori MP to be appointed to the Executive Council, was her great-great-great-great-grandfather.

During her maiden speech in December 2023, Maipi-Clarke criticised the National-led coalition government, claiming that it had "attacked my whole world from every corner". She identified health, the environment, water, land, natural resources and children as key areas of disagreement with the government:

Two weeks ago, New Zealand's parliament was halted after the controversial bill that proposes to radically alter the way the country’s treaty between Māori and the Crown is interpreted was tabled. Hana-Rawhiti was suspended from the Chamber for 24 hours: