Te Tawharau (roughly translated as "the shelter") was a Māori political party in New Zealand.
The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of waka (canoe) voyages somewhere between 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture whose language, mythology, crafts and performing arts evolved independently from other eastern Polynesian cultures.
A political party is an organized group of people who have the same ideology, or who otherwise have the same political positions, and who field candidates for elections, in an attempt to get them elected and thereby implement the party's agenda.
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. It has a total land area of 268,000 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
Te Tawharau briefly had representation in Parliament when Tuariki Delamere, a former New Zealand First MP, transferred his loyalty to it. In the 1999 elections, Te Tawharau contested electorates under its own banner, but contested the party vote as part of the Mana Māori Movement. It did not, however, win any seats, with Delamere losing his position to Mita Ririnui of the Labour Party. Te Tawharau was founded by Delamere, the late Wharekaihua Coates, known as Willie Coates, and Rangitukehu David Paul. Te Tawharau was founded on the principles espoused by Te Haahi Ringatu (the Ringatu Church) and sought to persuade the Māori people to recognise that under the new MMP voting system it was possible for Māori to hold the balance of power if Māori was able to unite under a common umbrella.
The New Zealand Parliament is the legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Queen of New Zealand (Queen-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The Queen is usually represented by her governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The New Zealand Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It has met in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, since 1865.
Tuariki John Edward Delamere is a former New Zealand politician. He served as an MP from 1996 to 1999, and was a member of Cabinet for the duration of his term.
New Zealand First, commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. It was founded in July 1993, following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winston Peters, from the then-governing National Party. It has formed governments with both major parties in New Zealand, first with the National Party from 1996 to 1998 and then with the Labour Party from 2005 to 2008 and from 2017 to present.
The party contested the 1996 election with six list candidates. [1]
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse than previous elections. It saw the National Party, led by Jim Bolger, retain its position in government, but only after protracted negotiations with the smaller New Zealand First party to form a coalition. New Zealand First's position as "kingmaker", able to place either of the two major parties into government, was a significant election outcome.
In the 1999 election the Māori parties of Te Tawharau, Mana Māori and Piri Wiri Tua formed a political alliance to hold the balance of power. Te Tawharau did not put forward a party list [2] and the 1999 alliance did not win any seats, the next step in that journey of Māori political awakening was reached in 2005 with the Māori Party winning four of the Māori electorates.
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance. This marked an end to nine years of the Fourth National Government, and the beginning of the Fifth Labour Government which would govern for nine years in turn, until its loss to the National Party in the 2008 general election.
Piri Wiri Tua Movement is a Māori political party in New Zealand associated with the Ratana movement. The name "Piri Wiri Tua" was sometimes used by the religion's founder, Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, and means The Campaigner. A literal translation is Billy Bore Through or stick fast and bore to the other side.
The Māori Party is an indigenous rights-based centre-left political party in New Zealand. Tariana Turia founded the party in 2004 after resigning from the governing centre-left Labour Party, for whom she was a minister, over the foreshore and seabed ownership controversy. She and Pita Sharples, a high-profile academic, became the first co-leaders.
While Te Tawharau has not formally been absorbed into the new Māori Party, as Te Tawharau has lapsed as a political organisation, the elements and people behind Te Tawharau supported the Māori Party.[ citation needed ] In 2007, Te Tawharau requested and received deregistration. [3]
