Tariana Turia

Last updated

New Zealand Parliament
Dame Tariana Turia
Tariana Turia 2019 (cropped).jpg
Turia in 2019
1st Minister for Whānau Ora
In office
8 April 2010 8 October 2014
YearsTermElectorateListParty
1996 1999 45th List20 Labour
1999 2002 46th List16 Labour
2002 2004 47th Te Tai Hauāuru None Labour
2004 2005 47th Te Tai Hauāuru Māori Party
2005 2008 48th Te Tai Hauāuru1 Māori Party
2008 2011 49th Te Tai Hauāuru1 Māori Party
2011 2014 50th Te Tai Hauāuru7 Māori Party

Turia entered the New Zealand Parliament in the 1996 election as a list MP for the Labour Party, ranking 20th on the party list. In the 1999 election, she remained a list MP, but ranked sixteenth. In the 2002 election, however, she contested the Te Tai Hauāuru Māori electorate, and opted not to place herself on the party list at all. Te Tai Hauāuru (roughly, the Māori voters of the west of the North Island) returned her as their member of parliament.

Although never a member of Cabinet, Turia has held a number of non-Cabinet ministerial roles. From Labour's electoral victory in 1999, she served as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs, Associate Minister of Social Services and Employment, Associate Minister of Health, and Associate Minister of Housing. In 2002, she also became Associate Minister of Corrections. After the formation of the Labour–Progressive coalition in 2002, she dropped the Corrections role and gained full ministerial rank as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector. [2]

Foreshore and seabed legislation

When debate about ownership of New Zealand's foreshore and seabed broke out in 2003, and the Labour Party proposed vesting ownership in the state, Turia voiced dissatisfaction. Along with many of her supporters in Te Tai Hauāuru, she claimed that Labour's proposal amounted to an outright confiscation of Māori land. When it became publicly known that Turia might vote against Labour's bill in parliament, tensions between Turia and the Labour Party's leadership increased. The hierarchy strongly implied that if Turia did not support Labour policy, she could not retain her ministerial roles.

By-election

On 30 April 2004, after a considerable period of confusion about Turia's intentions, she announced that she would resign from parliament on 17 May. This precipitated a by-election being called in Te Tai Hauāuru, which Turia contested as a member of the new Māori Party that formed around her. On the same day that Turia announced her resignation, Prime Minister Helen Clark sacked her from her ministerial posts. [3]

Her supporters see Turia as having bravely defied her party in order to stand up for her principles. The Labour Party has criticised Turia for putting the foreshore and seabed issue before the party's wider policies for Māori development, and says that she has unreasonably focused on a single issue. Helen Clark said that Turia had shown "an astonishing lack of perspective". [3] Turia described the Te Tai Hauāuru by-election of 10 July 2004 as a chance to test her mandate, and to ensure that she had the support of her voters, but doubts remained about the significance of the by-election, since none of the major parties put forward candidates. Labour called the event "a waste of time and money", although the by-election was required by waka-jumping law in force at the time. [4]

Turia received 92.74% of the vote in the by-election, [5] and resumed her seat in Parliament on 27 July 2004.

2005 general election

Turia and Pita Sharples in 2005 Tariana and Pita at Maori Party Launch 2005.jpg
Turia and Pita Sharples in 2005

On 17 September 2005, the Māori Party contested the general election with electoral candidates in all seven of the Māori seats. Turia was re-elected in Te Tai Hauāuru and that night three more Māori Party candidates won parliamentary seats, Pita Sharples (co-leader) in Tāmaki Makaurau, Hone Harawira in Te Tai Tokerau and Te Ururoa Flavell in Waiariki. The winning of the four seats resulted in celebration for their supporters who anticipated seeing an independent, Māori voice in parliament. However, the Māori Party share of the party vote across the country was 2.1 percent, placing them sixth out of the eight parties in parliament by party vote. This was attributed to voters in the Māori electorates mainly giving their party vote to the incumbent Labour government.

2008 general election and ministerial posts

Support for the Māori Party in the 2008 general election increased with the party gaining an additional seat. [6] National won most seats overall, to form a minority government with support from the Māori Party as well as ACT New Zealand and United Future. In return for Māori Party support in confidence and supply, John Key agreed to not abolish the Māori seats without the consent of Māori. [7] It was also agreed to review the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 and to consider Māori representation in a wider constitutional review which began in 2010. [8] Turia and co-leader Sharples were both made Ministers, although like other support party members both remained outside Cabinet. Turia was given the portfolios of Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, while Sharples was made Minister of Māori Affairs. [9]

When Paula Bennett stepped down as Minister for Disability Issues on 30 June 2009, Key appointed Turia the new minister. [10] In 2010, the National and Māori Parties announced Whānau Ora, a taskforce designed to streamline social service resources. Turia was announced Minister responsible for the implementing of the scheme. [11]

On 7 April 2011, during the term of the 49th New Zealand Parliament, the composition of the Abortion Supervisory Committee was debated. Turia moved that an anti-abortion Pacific Island doctor, Ate Moala, be appointed to the ASC. The vote was lost 67–31 against, with twenty four absences or abstentions. [12]

Official government portrait, c. 2014 Tariana Turia NZgovt.jpg
Official government portrait, c.2014

Turia confirmed in November 2013 that she would retire at the 2014 election. [13]

Life after Parliament

In 2022, Turia drew media attention for her anti-vaccinationist views and opposition to mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 17 February 2022, Turia accused Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of having Nazi sympathies on Radio New Zealand, in an interview about the Sixth Labour Government's response to the 2022 Wellington anti-vaccination protests. She falsely claimed that Ardern had been filmed as a student doing “almost a Heil Hitler salute”. [14] [15]

Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, Turia expressed support for the incoming Sixth National Government's plan to scrap the Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority). She opined that she would rather see funding being given directly to whanau (families), iwi (tribes), hapu (sub-tribes) to allow them to manage their own health needs. While Turia praised John Key and Bill English for the Fifth National Government's progress on Māori health, she criticised the outgoing Labour Government for allegedly not taking "into account the differences in the way people view things". [16]

Honours

In the 2015 New Year Honours, Turia was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a Member of Parliament. [17]

Related Research Articles

The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty of Waitangi. On 18 November 2004, the New Zealand Parliament passed a law which deems the title to be held by the Crown. This law, the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, was enacted on 24 November 2004. Some sections of the act came into force on 17 January 2005. It was repealed and replaced by the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election</span> New Zealand by-election

The Te Tai Hauauru by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Hauāuru, one of the Māori electorates. The date set for the by-election was 10 July 2004. It saw the re-election of Tariana Turia, a former MP for the Labour Party and now co-leader of the Māori Party.

Te Pāti Māori, also known as the Māori Party, is a political party in New Zealand advocating Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of general electorates, Te Pāti Māori contests the reserved Māori electorates, in which its main rival is the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Māori electorates</span> Electoral districts for Māori voters in New Zealand

In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is covered by both a general and a Māori electorate; as of 2020, there are seven Māori electorates. Since 1967, candidates in Māori electorates have not needed to be Māori themselves, but to register as a voter in the Māori electorates people need to declare that they are of Māori descent.

Te Ringa Mangu Netana "Dun" Mihaka was a New Zealand Māori activist, author, and political candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 New Zealand general election</span> General election in New Zealand

The 2005 New Zealand general election on Saturday 17 September 2005 determined the membership of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives: 69 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 52 from party lists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">47th New Zealand Parliament</span> Term of the Parliament of New Zealand

The 47th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 2002 election, and it sat until 11 August 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pita Sharples</span> New Zealand politician

Sir Pita Russell Sharples is a New Zealand Māori academic and politician, who was a co-leader of the Māori Party from 2004 to 2013, and a minister outside Cabinet in the National Party-led government from 2008 to 2014. He was the member of Parliament for the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate in Auckland from 2005 to 2014. He stepped down as co-leader role of the Māori Party in July 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Māori politics</span> Politics of the Māori people

Māori politics is the politics of the Māori people, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority. Before the arrival of Pākehā (Europeans) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around tribal units, and chiefs provided political leadership. With the British settlers of the 19th century came a new British-style government. From the outset, Māori sought representation within this government, seeing it as a vital way to promote their people's rights and improve living standards. Modern Māori politics can be seen as a subset of New Zealand politics in general, but has a number of distinguishing features, including advocacy for indigenous rights and Māori sovereignty. Many Māori politicians are members of major, historically European-dominated political parties, while others have formed separate Māori parties. For example, Te Pāti Māori, holding six of seven Māori electorates, is one such party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hone Harawira</span> New Zealand Māori activist and politician

Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Tai Hauāuru</span> Māori electorate in New Zealand

Te Tai Hauāuru is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives, that was first formed for the 1996 election. The electorate was represented by Tariana Turia from 2002 to 2014, first for the Labour Party and then for the Māori Party. Turia retired and was succeeded in 2014 by Labour's Adrian Rurawhe who retained the seat in 2017 and again in 2020.

Rahui Reid Katene is a New Zealand politician. She was elected to the 49th New Zealand Parliament at the 2008 general election representing the Māori Party in the seat of Te Tai Tonga, but lost in the 2011 general election to Labour's Rino Tirikatene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election</span> New Zealand by-election

The 2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Tokerau that was caused by Hone Harawira's resignation from the seat. Prior to resigning his seat, Harawira had resigned from the Māori Party and formed his own Mana Party.

Whānau Ora is a major contemporary indigenous health initiative in New Zealand, driven by Māori cultural values. Its core goal is to empower communities and extended families to support families within the community context rather than individuals within an institutional context.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titewhai Harawira</span> New Zealand Māori activist (1932–2023)

Titewhai Te Hoia Hinewhare Harawira was a New Zealand Māori activist. Born in Whakapara and descended from Ngāpuhi chiefs, Harawira was an outspoken political commentator and a civil rights campaigner beginning with her involvement with activist group Ngā Tamatoa in the 1970s. She became a nationally recognised figure due in part to her role escorting New Zealand prime ministers onto the marae during annual Waitangi Day celebrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Rurawhe</span> New Zealand politician

Adrian Paki Rurawhe is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. He has been an MP since 2014, and the speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2022 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harete Hipango</span> New Zealand politician

Harete Makere Hipango is a New Zealand politician. She was a member of parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party and sat on the Māori Affairs Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naida Glavish</span> New Zealand politician and Māori community leader

Dame Rangimārie Naida Glavish is a New Zealand politician and Māori community leader from the Ngāti Whātua iwi. From 2013 to 2016, she was President of the Māori Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Ngarewa-Packer</span> New Zealand politician and Māori leader

Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soraya Peke-Mason</span> New Zealand politician

Soraya Waiata Peke-Mason is a New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 2022 to 2023.

References

  1. "Michele Hewitson interview: Tariana Turia". New Zealand Herald. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 Berry, Ruth; Tunnah, Helen (30 April 2004). "Turia quits Labour, stripped of portfolios". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  3. Professor Andrew Geddis. "Who controls the past now, controls the future" . Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  4. "By-Election Results – Te Tai Hauauru". Chief Electoral Office. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. "Party vote status 2008". Archived from the original on 9 February 2009.
  6. Trevett, Claire (17 November 2008). "Maori Party takes 'sensible position'". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/22CACF7A-2530-45E6-9569-518E53CF0056/184002/NationalMaori_Party_agreement20096.pdf [ dead link ]
  8. "Key's Government". The New Zealand Herald . 17 November 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  9. "Minister drops Disability Issues" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  10. "Whanau Ora: Turia to head welfare shake-up". The New Zealand Herald . 8 April 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  11. "Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee".
  12. Small, Vernon (5 November 2013). "Tariana Turia set to go". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  13. "No confidence in Ardern – Dame Tariana Turia". Radio New Zealand . 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  14. "Listen: Dame Tariana Turia makes bizarre claim about PM, supports protest". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  15. Hemi, Tema (19 October 2023). "Dame Tariana Turia believes more can be accomplished for Māori health under National". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  16. "New Year honours list 2015". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Te Tai Hauāuru
2002–2014
Succeeded by
Party political offices
New political party Co-leader of the Māori Party
2004–2014
Served alongside: Pita Sharples, Te Ururoa Flavell
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector
2003–2004

2008–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded bySucceeded by
Preceded by Minister for Disability Issues
2009–2014
Succeeded by
New ministerial post Minister responsible for Whānau Ora
2010–2014
Succeeded by