National selects Hinurewa te Hau former Māori Party candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau seat

Hinurewa te Hau is National Party candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau in the 2023 election.

National has selected a former Māori Party candidate to run in the Māori electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau - the first time the party has entered the race in the Auckland seat since 2002.

It comes the day after National Party leader Christopher Luxon ruled out working with Te Pāti Māori - the Māori Party - in any shape, even if it was the only way he could become Prime Minister.

Hinurewa te Hau told the Herald she accepted she was very unlikely to win the seat - held by Labour’s Peeni Henare since 2014 - but this was the “very first step to create a presence”.

She said she was also determined to secure a good place on the party list to “present a Māori voice within the National government”.

Te Hau was on Te Pāti Māori’s list in 2014 and 2017 and was its chair in Te Tai Tokerau for three years, but told the Herald she had always been a National Party voter - her father Matiu te Hau served three terms as National’s Māori vice president, and she stood for National in Māngere in the 1990s.

Te Hau said her affiliation came when Te Pāti Māori had an accord to work with National - under John Key’s leadership between 2008 and 2017 - and through a whānau connection.

Echoing Luxon’s words this week, Te Hau said Te Pāti Māori of 2023 was quite a different prospect from when she worked with them and supported his decision to rule them out.

“He feels that the values of our party are not aligning, he has every right to make that call. And I agree with that.

“Te Pāti Maori has a place... but where they are now leaning to the left, that does not sit well with me. It’s not the Māori Party I knew.

“It does not mean I disrespect them as Māori, they are entitled to their kōrero, their whakapapa.”

Te Hau is National’s second candidate confirmed in a Māori seat for this year’s election, after Harete Hipango was selected in Te Tai Hauāuru.

National had not run a candidate in a Māori seat since 2002 and the party even actively campaigned to abolish them. Former leader Sir John Key pulled back on the policy but the party didn’t decide to run in any of the electorates until Luxon indicated a change in approach.

On the party vote in Tāmaki Makaurau, National polled just 3.2 per cent in 2020. Te Hau said part of her campaign would be connecting Māori with National and better understanding the issues that affected them.

She said her involvement in politics had always been about getting the best possible outcomes for Māori, which she would carry into her campaign with National.

“As a Māori woman, I am putting equity back into National and if I’m fortunate enough to be elected, to work with the caucus and with our leader to get the best possible outcomes for Māori as per our values, which is recognising Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of New Zealand.”

Te Hau said she thought National provided the best opportunity for the country and was a good party for Māori, referencing the principles of former member Tā (Sir) Apirana Ngata.

“The National Party’s values of equal opportunity, personal responsibility and rewards for achievement is pursuing mana motuhake [self-determination],” Te Hau said.

“Standing for National is embracing my own mana motuhake, which is carrying the faith, belief and determination to create a safe and prosperous future for the communities we serve.”

Te Hau said issues for Tāmaki Makaurau were the same as across the country - the cost-of-living crisis.

“National has a plan to strengthen our economy and lower the cost of living so our communities are safe and people not only get by but get ahead.”

She said she was a “huge believer” in policies like Whānau Ora, which came in through Te Pāti Māori founder Dame Tariana Turia during their accord with National.

“Tariana Turia used to say the social welfare system does not fit our people, and I still believe in that.”

Te Hau said she would also be a big advocate in growing the creative economy - particularly for Māori - and improving vocational training.

Asked about some of National’s policies opposing co-governance, such as the Māori Health Authority, Te Hau said since 1840 there had been partnerships with Māori, and there were “opportunities” for National to explore them further.

She declined to comment if she agreed with Luxon that the Māori Health Authority was “separatist”.

“There is no question within the Māori health area, we’ve got to improve outcomes.

“We are still at a disadvantage in the health system, it is not equal. All National is saying is that we need to create that equal system, and what does it look like.”

Te Hau has broad whakapapa, including Ngāti Hine, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Rereahu mē Ngāti Maniapoto, Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Raukawa.

She has a background in marketing, business, Māori development and economic development, and most recently worked in the creative sector. She is currently a senior executive for Creative Northland. She is a co-founder of the Matariki Cultural Foundation, which organises cultural events, builds cultural sector capability and promotes Māori and Pacific musicians.

Based currently near Whangārei, Te Hau was born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau and said she would relocate to the city if she was elected as MP.

Her uncle Sir Graham Latimer - an inaugural member of the Waitangi Tribunal - also served as Māori vice president of the National Party and stood for the party twice in the Northern Māori seat.