Takutai Moana Kemp eyes a future in politics. Photo / Te Pāti Māori
Takutai Moana Kemp eyes a future in politics. Photo / Te Pāti Māori
Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp is no stranger to standing up for struggling whānau - regardless of where they are from or what ethnicity they are.
Kemp has been the driving force behind the South Auckland urban marae, which in times of need has been an anchor for the community.
That’s partially why she has put her hand up to contest the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate at the October election for Te Pāti Māori.
Kemp was officially confirmed as Te Pāti Māori’s candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau at the Waitangi@Waititi music festival in West Auckland today, but her name has been bandied about for months.
Hailing from the iwi of Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngā iwi o Mōkai Pātea, Ngāti Tamakōpiri, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāi Te Ohuake, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Hinemanu and Ngāti Paki, Kemp has spent most of her life in South Auckland.
She is passionate advocate for her whānau, for rangatahi, for iwi, for Ngai Māori and the community of Tāmaki Makaurau. Takutai Moana has served in many leadership roles in South Auckland for everyone from growing Māori leaders to world hip-hop dancers, and most recently as the CEO for Manurewa Marae and director of Hip Hop International.
Takutai Moana Kemp at Waitangi@Waititi. Photo / Te Whānau o Waipareira
“This stand isn’t about me” says Kemp. “I’m here because there was a tono from a group of rangatahi who asked me to stand for our hāpori of Tāmaki Makaurau. They said, ‘We believe in you’.
“Rangatahi were asking for a voice that they trusted, who they had seen show aroha, manaakitanga and leadership. Most importantly, someone who believed in them. For too long, our Rangatahi have been told to wait [for their] their time - now is their time.”
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere said the mahi Kemp has done for Māori and non-Māori on the frontline has been relentless.
“Takutai is an outstanding example of leadership. Her commitment to projecting and protecting the voice of rangatahi is unheard of and desperately needed. She is a ringa-raupā, a frontline soldier, and has been relentless in her drive to support the wellbeing of her people.”
“She has worked for decades in the health and community development sector and has an intimate understanding of the daily struggles our people face in Tāmaki. Without her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, South Auckland would have emerged worse for wear. She has migrated her way to leadership through hard work and has a track record to prove it,” said Tamihere.
Kemp said our people have struggled and are not just dealing with bread and butter issues - for many whānau, it’s life and death.
“Over the past two years, I’ve seen first-hand the struggles our whānau face, especially through a global pandemic, and now flooding. With the cost of living rising and many not being able to afford to put kai on the table, there are literally no extra dollars for anything. I see the hardship - I come from the ground up and I work in the hāpori with our people.”
“Through my years of working with rangatahi and whānau in our hāpori, I’ve heard the vibrancies, I’ve seen solutions, I’ve seen the potential. It’s time for our people to rise and to have that belief in who we are as tangata whenua. To be brave, to be hopeful, to inspire, to take action, and this is the time for our people to fight for what we believe in and take action,” she said.
