Election 2023: Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke youngest MP in 170 years

Hana-Rawhiti Maiki-Clarke (left) defeated Nanaia Mahuta and others to win the Hauraki-Waikato Māori electorate. Photo / Alan Gibson

The Māori seat of Hauraki-Waikato is set to have a new MP, the youngest in 170 years, with 21-year-old Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke unseating Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

In preliminary results, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, of Te Pāti Māori, garnered 8825 votes and Mahuta 7459.

Mahuta was elected to the Tainui seat in 2002. It was later renamed Hauraki-Waikato in 2008, and she has been the incumbent since.

Maipi-Clarke sits fourth on Te Pāti Maori’s list, and despite a recent poll that had the newcomer trailing Mahuta by four per cent, none of the experts spoken to by the NZ Herald had Nanaia Mahuta going down in Hauraki-Waikato.

Maipi-Clarke is the niece of a pioneer of the Māori language movement, Hana Te Hemara, who delivered the Māori language petition on the steps of Parliament in 1972.

She is also the granddaughter of Taitimu Maipi, the Ngā Tamatoa member who took to the Captain Hamilton statue in its namesake city with a hammer and red paint in 2018, challenging its colonial legacy and Hamilton’s role in the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.

Hana-Rawhiti Maiki-Clarke is the youngest MP in 170 years.

Her win in Hauraki-Waikato meant Foreign Affairs Minister Mahuta has been ousted from Parliament, as she wasn’t on the list.

Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Mahuta said she had much to think about.

“Now I’m going to take stock and obviously spend time with whānau.

“Whānau is the hugest sacrifice you make when you serve over such a long period of time, so they’re looking forward to having me to themselves for a while and then we’ll map out next steps.”

Mahuta said she had concerns a National/Act Government could impact progress that was made for the Māori population under the now-outgoing Government.

“[In this election] there was a lot of challenges in terms of people learning what change means.

“We were very clear right from the get-go that a National and Act Government would turn back the clock in a number of significant gains that have been made for Māori.”

But the people had spoken, she said.

Maipi-Clarke has been In the headlines recently after an alleged break-in at her home, which may have been politically motivated.

Stay up to date with HC Post and Waikato Herald

Get the latest Waikato headlines straight to your inbox Monday to Saturday. Register for free today - click here and choose Local News.