Labour MP Peeni Henare receiving a hug from Speaker Gerry Brownlee after the tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Labour MP Peeni Henare receiving a hug from Speaker Gerry Brownlee after the tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Parliament’s combative debating chamber descended into sorrow yesterday as MPs marked the death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, who had died aged 50 early that morning.
Kemp had been battling kidney disease.
The six Te Pāti Māori seats in Parliament were empty as the party’sMPs travelled to support Kemp’s grieving whānau. Flowers were placed on Kemp’s bench, a Māori Party flag draped over her seat.
Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp has died aged 50 following kidney disease. Photo / Mike Scott
The party released a statement in the hours after her death, saying they were heartbroken and devastated.
“Takutai was more than just a colleague to us, she was our sister and we loved her dearly.”
Kemp’s sudden death shocked Parliament. Ministers and MPs hugged their political opponents in the debating chamber and many wiped away tears as others spoke, sang and shared their grief.
Kemp was a first-term MP after knocking incumbent Labour MP Peeni Henare from the Auckland seat of Tāmaki Makaurau by a margin of just 42 votes in the 2023 election. However, Henare’s sorrow in the House yesterday revealed the ties between the two were much deeper and warmer than just being political rivals.
National MP Louise Upston paying her respects after a parliamentary tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A visibly emotional Henare marked Kemp’s passing in the House with mōteatea (lament). When the proceedings had finished and a moment’s silence had been observed, MPs from all parties hugged Henare.
Earlier in the day, Henare had told media how he had spent an hour with Kemp the previous day explaining to a Youth MP that although they were competitive politically, they were still close behind the scenes.
“She called me brother, and I called her sister, and that’s how it was. It is just so sad,” he had said.
Labour’s Willie Jackson also spoke in the House, saying Henare had “almost been traumatised by this”.
“You would not believe the war that went on in South Auckland for that Tāmaki Makaurau seat, you would not believe how tough it was ... People would have thought they would have been enemies forever but their whanaungatanga ties them forever and a day,” Jackson said.
Labour MP Peeni Henare receiving a hug from Act MP Karen Churr after the tribute to Te Pāti Maori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp in Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
That was the difference with Māori politics, Jackson said.
“We can go to war sometimes ... we can destroy each other and then you wouldn’t think it was the same people, we’ll go have a cup of tea and a kai out the back of the marae.
“We will always be tied by our toto [bloodline], by our whakapapa and by our identity and Peeni Henare and Tarsh Kemp couldn’t have been any closer.”
Jackson said Kemp was “an absolute powerhouse” in the work she did for Manurewa Marae, and a “vivacious, passionate” woman.
“As the CEO [of the marae], she was at the forefront of Whānau Ora, rangatahi, Māori development, community development, you name it, and Tarsh was doing it.”
NZ First Minister Shane Jones said although politics was a contest, at its base was “the pursuit of humanity”.
“Today we respect the contribution that this woman has made to our nation in the various pathways her life has taken her down.”
Minister Shane Jones, of NZ First, speaks during a parliamentary tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Labour MP Peeni Henare was among those visibly emotional during a parliamentary tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Kemp held many titles. She was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to street dance and youth in 2021. As chief executive, she helped lead Manurewa Marae through the pandemic and also spent two decades working in the health sector.
Kemp was a figurehead in New Zealand’s hip-hop community, particularly in South Auckland, where she encouraged youth to fulfil their dreams through dance. She worked with the University of Auckland to develop a Rangatahi Mental Health Youth Hub in Manurewa to address the high suicide rates among young Māori. She was a mother, and a grandmother.
Act leader and acting Prime Minister David Seymour said Kemp had come to Parliament because she was devoted to improving the lives of Māori – “particularly tamariki and giving them a greater voice through the vessel of this House”.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick with Green MP Kahurangi Carter during the Takutai Tarsh Kemp tributes at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“She was a true representative and in her brief time in Parliament she made a true impression. She left no doubt about what she was here to do, who she was here to serve and she did that even while facing and battling a chronic illness.”
Kemp was at Parliament the day before she died, sitting in the front benches alongside Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris. Her party said she had “devoted every last breath” to the movement for Māori liberation.
“Even as serious illness weighed on her, she continued to stand in the House, in our homes, on our marae and in our communities – relentlessly championing the rights and wellbeing of our people."
Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp and party president John Tamihere on election night in 2023, when she won Auckland's Tāmaki Makaurau seat. Photo / Mike Scott
Kemp had taken leave from Parliament last year to battle kidney disease. A byelection will now be triggered in the Māori seat of Tāmaki Makaurau. The Governor-General must issue a writ to the Electoral Commission to begin making arrangements for a byelection on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is currently in Europe, said he was “saddened” by the news.
“On behalf of the Government, our thoughts are with her whānau, friends, colleagues, and the Tāmaki Makaurau community.”
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
