Tama Potaka: What’s a nice Māori like you doing in the National Party?

National's Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka gives his maiden statement to the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell. March 7, 2023.

That was going to be the first question but something National’s Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka has learned in just a few months is ask your own question, and then answer it.

“How do you know I’m nice. You are assuming that,” the former Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki iwi leader turned politician laughs.

“I’m privileged and honoured to be part of the blue team.

“My upbringing very much aligns to the values of the National Party.

“Loyalty to the country and sovereign is in my tupunas’ [ancestors’] DNA, to the service of my grandfathers and his siblings plus my mum’s father in Word War II.”

He continues: “Strong families are a real driver and I’m a massive believer in families and personal responsibility.

“If you do the work, you should get the rewards.

“If you are sick or incapacitated, the state can support you but if not you need to take personal ownership and not keep taking.

“Plus National want less government not more plus we also need to get on top of law and order.”

Tama Potaka was iwi Ngāi Tai's leader when the tribe purchased the land under Macleans College. Photo / Supplied

Potaka, 47, was born in Raetihi, near Ohakune. His parents were school teachers and Potaka went to a private school in Marton before attending Māori boarding school Te Aute College.

He gained a BA and an LLB from Victoria University, Wellington and then a Master of Laws from Columbia University.

Returning to Aotearoa, Potaka, the father of 3, worked for Rudd, Watts and Stone (now Minter Ellison), and in various public policy roles, with Lake Taupō Funds, and Bell Gully.

He then spent seven years working as general manager corporate services for Tainui Group Holdings and then a stint as a senior advisor at the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

He was appointed chief executive officer of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Trust in 2020. In 2021, he was chosen as one of four lead negotiators for the Mōkai Pātea Treaty of Waitangi claim before winning Hamilton West for National a few months ago.

He says his employment positions has put him in a place to facilitate - “which is what electorate MPs must do for their constituents”.

“On a personal front, my experiences since becoming an MP, is I don’t know very much at all,” Potaka said.

“I have a flash CV and have done all these jobs but when you get into this mahi, I have some skills and knowledge but there is always a challenge.

“At the ground level there is a lot of deprivation. Everything I have learned to date over my working life, I’ve had to start from the ground level again and be open.”

Potaka won the byelection just before Christmas, then had to wait for Parliament to resume from its Christmas break to deliver his maiden speech last month.

With photos of his ancestors in the debating chamber, Potaka delivered a powerful and emotional speech where he described the sacrifices of his tupuna and the fight his whānau took on to resist Māori land loss.

His electorate has a high Māori (25 per cent) and Pacific (10 per cent) population makeup.

“The other dynamic is we have the youngest or second youngest population and on our housing stats in Hamilton, the biggest cohort on the social waiting list are up to 40 year olds.

Asked if National is an anti Māori party, Potaka says that is a misconception and echoed by the uninformed.

“That is an opinion and not based on fact.

“When you look over decades there have been some outrageously good outcomes for Māori facilitated by the National Party.

“Look at Te Matatini and the names on the trophy [Ngāpō Pīma Wehi Duncan MacIntyre]. MacIntyre was a National MP and National sponsored the initial winners.

“Another example of National supporting Māori is Whānau Ora, which was promoted by Dame Tariana and Tā Pita Sharples. National have always supported strong resilient families and the best way to do that is devolve funding and resource to organisations who work with whānau.

“Kohanga and kura kaupapa never started under Labour. They started under National so when you look at inflows of Māori communities, the peaks are under Jim Bolger and John Key, not Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern.

“So when people say National are anti Maori, it’s an opinion, unjustified and unsophisticated. I think we as Māori deserve more sophisticated debate based on fact and not on fallacy.”

Potaka spent Anzac Day attending a Dawn Service in Hamilton and then another civic service at 11am.

The rest of the day he spent door knocking his electorate. The amount of leg work Potaka has put into Hamilton West, judging by his social media, has been immense and if a letter opens, he might not be too far away.

“I met a couple yesterday who are living in their car. They said there was a group of around 30 who slept in the vehicles around the area and that’s not good enough,” Potaka said.

“I also saw Gaurav Sharma [ousted Labour MP for Hamilton West], and gave him a hug.”

Potaka has already got into some big issues gripping the local community including homelessness and even Countdown moving from a neighbourhood.

There’s no doubt Potaka will be seen in the news a lot more as he ups his game as National’s spokesman for Māori development and associate housing.