Labour MP Rino Tirikatene is retiring from politics. Photo / Jason Walls
Labour MP Rino Tirikatene is retiring from politics. Photo / Jason Walls
Outgoing Labour Party list MP Rino Tirakatene has warned the coalition Government it will face a backlash from te iwi Māori if it unwinds the progress of the last six years.
Tirikatene served four terms as MP for Te Tai Tonga before losing it in the October election to TakutaFerris from Te Pāti Māori.
As chair of the Māori affairs committee from 2017 to 2020, he oversaw an inquiry into health inequities for Māori which helped lay the groundwork for an independent agency to protect and promote Māori health, Te Aka Whai Ora, which the coalition has pledged to scrap.
Also at risk is the Act he sponsored creating two seats for Ngāi Tahu on the Canterbury Regional Council.
Tirikatene says as a trade minister in the last Government he was particularly proud of his work to advance New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreements and relationships and the recognition of Māori and indigenous trade interests in FTAs.
He says it’s time to reset and pursue new opportunities after 12 years in Parliament.
Tirikatene held Te Tai Tonga from 2011 to 2023. His grandfather, Sir Eruera Tirikatene, and his aunt Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan also held the Southern Māori seat making Rino a third-generation MP and minister.
As Tirakatene is a list MP his resignation will not require a byelection.
He will be replaced on the list by another South Island MP, Tracey McClennan, who held the Banks Peninsula seat in the last Parliament.
Shannan Halbert is the next eligible person on the 2023 Labour Party List – he will return to Parliament in February following Kelvin Davis’ resignation.
