Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke named by Time as one of the world’s ‘most influential rising stars’

Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke was among those to perform a haka at Parliament after the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill, on November 14, 2024. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone

Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has been recognised by Time magazine as one of “the world’s most influential rising stars”.

Maipi-Clarke was aged just 21 when elected to Parliament in 2023.

Time said she “shook the world” when she performed a haka during a vote on the Treaty Principles Bill last year.

The influential news magazine said she followed in the footsteps of ancestors who sustained Māori language, traditions and culture.

Writing for Time, Deb Haaland – former US secretary of the interior under President Joe Biden – said Maipi-Clarke was a “link in the chain of activists who sacrificed for us and inspire us every day”.

“Using her platform and voice, she staved off attempts to disenfranchise communities and attack Indigenous rights. In the grand scheme of things, she represents something that rings true: young people are not just leaders of tomorrow, they are also taking the helm and fighting for the future they deserve.”

For her actions in Parliament, Maipi-Clarke was suspended for seven days after it was determined she – and other Te Pāti Māori MPs – had been “acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House”.

Before the haka made international headlines, Maipi-Clarke had already been named the One Young World Politician of the Year, which recognised the world’s most outstanding politicians between the ages of 18 and 35, using their positions to have a positive impact on young people in their communities and countries.

Earlier this year Maipi-Clarke starred in a music video for Stan Walker.

– RNZ