Former Labour Party candidate Rawiri Waititi will contest the Waiariki seat for the Māori Party in this year's general election.
Waititi spent the first half of his life in the rural East Coast and the second half in Auckland.
In this Local Focus video, Waititi talks about the challenges facing Māori in a post-Covid world and how he's perfectly positioned to walk in both Te Ao Maori and the Pakeha world.
As a tighthead prop he runs the ball "up the guts" but it's his choice of favourite politician that is most surprising.
