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Te Pāti Māori will today announce the high list placing of Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke at number four - sending her straight to Parliament after the election.
The Herald understands the number one, two and three spots on the list announced today at the Koroneihana will be Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, followed by Ikaroa Rawhiti MP and former Labour MP Meka Whaitiri - now a Te Pāti Māori MP. Maipi-Clarke comes in at number four.
All polling suggests Waititi will win Waiariki and Ngarewa-Packer Te Tai Hauāuru. Whaitiri has a big chance to retain Ikaroa Rawhiti, but this time for Te Pāti Māori over Labour’s Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, meaning Maipi-Clarke has an armchair ride to Wellington.
Maipi-Clarke is standing in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate, but is up against the colossus and longtime senior Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta and she has no real chance of toppling the Foreign Affairs Minister.
But the Te Pāti Māori thinking is, if Mahuta should retire after this election - she has been in Parliament since 1996 - the three years Maipi-Clarke would gain by just being in Parliament will be invaluable for the future. That has helped Ngarewa-Packer who was dragged into Parliament on the back of Waititi winning Waiariki in 2020.
The move to promote youth will also show the Māori voter-base that Te Pāti Māori are serious about youth being the future of the party.
When her candidacy was confirmed in June, she said it was an honour to stand for Te Pāti Māori and though young in years, already had many years of mahi for Māori under her belt.
She is recognised as an author, working within the māramataka space, as well as an advocate for Māori rights. She is the mokopuna of revered Māori activist Hana Te Hemara and the daughter of Māori broadcaster Potaka Maipi.
Another high-list placing will also be given to Te Tai Tonga candidate Takuta Ferris - who is likely to be at number five.
Ferris stood for the party in 2020 and when announced Te Pāti president John Tamihere said it took tremendous courage and commitment to put his hand up for another round in the ring.
“Tākuta is not only a fine exponent of Kapahaka, having led his kapa Tamatea Arikinui to many Matatini, but he is an artist, a carver and highly sought after lecturer at Massey University,” Tamihere said.
Ferris, a descendant of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kuia, said he was honoured to stand again as the candidate for Te Tai Tonga.
“I will be a staunch champion and advocate for Māori independence. The fight for our tamariki and mokopuna will be fierce, therefore, we must be resolute and relentless,” Ferris said.
The other four Te Pāti Māori electorate candidates will round out the rest of the top of the list, taking places six to eight.
