After that, she spent 15 years as a senior manager overseeing the social services arm for East Coast and Gisborne before finishing up in 2021.
“I wanted to get back to doing things at a local level with hapū, rather than trying to serve the whole of Ngāti Porou, which I was responsible for across the social services arm. Justice, housing, education ... you name it, I was in charge of it.”
That year, she co-founded Huarahi Pai - an eight-week marae-based meth rehabilitation programme - and set up Home Grown Housing Solutions Limited to secure housing contracts with Ngāti Porou and hire people from the East Coast.
“I’m really passionate about helping people,” she said. “It’s in my DNA, and I don’t think anyone should be overlooked.”
No stranger to political campaigning, Huriwai was campaign manager for her sister, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, who won the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Māori electorate for the Labour Party in 2023.
She also helped her brother, Patrick Tangaere, a former Gisborne district councillor and current chairman of Te Runanganui o Ngāti Porou, in his campaigns.
One of her “campaign mantras” is “working in partnership ... there are no decisions made for us or about us without us”.
When Cyclone Gabrielle rolled devastatingly through the region, she was involved in the response in the Waiapu area, despite having finished her role with Ngāti Porou.
“From the outside looking in, I knew there was a relationship between iwi and council, but I could see once again that things could have been done better.
“Until we get to a point where there is true collaboration and working in partnership, then we’re going to keep making wrong choices.”
She referred to an example from her area, where the council installed a footpath at least 20 metres too short.
“The footpath only goes half the length of the actual papakāinga ... If the council had consulted with the right people, they would know that the papakāinga doesn’t end there.
“When you’re working in consultation in a meaningful way with locals, you get better solutions. It’s about working smarter, not harder.”
If elected, Huriwai also wants the council to investigate its procurement processes for roading.
“It’s important to have a procurement process. But how do we make it easier for the small Coastie contractors to get a little bit of work?”
Huriwai is one of 11 candidates vying for the five Māori ward spots.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
