Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke
New Zealand’s Youngest Māori MP
She is already fighting for the rights of Māori and she brings with her that Gen Z fire and absolutely zero f*cks. At her first address in Parliament on December 12th, 2023, she opens her speech with the Māori Haka – a traditional war cry – rallying all Māori in the room to fight for their rights in the face of the Nationalist Government seeking to dismantle the legislation that has been protecting them for over 180 years.
Listen now to learn more about what’s going on in New Zealand and what Hana-Tawhiti is doing about it!
“We have arrived. We are here. We are sailing. We are navigating, just like our ancestors once did, in the biggest ocean in the world.”
“In only a couple of weeks … this Government has attacked my whole world … Health, taiao [environment], wai [water], whenua [land], natural resources, Māori wards, reo [language], tamariki, and the right of me and you to be in this country under Te Tiriti.”
“How can I not take anything personally when it feels like these policies were made about me?… Every time you hear my voice, it will echo of my ancestors. Every time you look me in the eyes, you will see the children that survived. Over the next three years, you will see history rewrite itself without a pen”
“To Hauraki-Waikato, I am at your service in and outside of Parliament. I will die for you in these chambers, but I will live for you outside these four walls…To our mokopuna, they can attack me, but I will not let them attack you. Our first words we spoke in this House was an oath to you…”
“It’s up to all humans whether they care or not. I think if you care about Māori culture, you have a great appreciation for the way that we look after: we look after our land, we look after our people, we look after our culture and our language. We will always look after ourselves and everything surrounding us, so we will always look after others as well.”
