Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

• Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke is a New Zealand politician. She is associated with the Te Pāti Māori party as a Member of Parliament.

• She is a descendant of the Nga Puhi, Waikato, Taranaki, Ngati Porou, and Ngai Tahu.

• In 2023, during the New Zealand general election, she was elected as a Member of Parliament representing the Te Pāti Māori party.

• She contested and won the Hauraki-Waikato electorate to become a member of Parliament. She defeated Nanaia Mahuta, an experienced MP of New Zealand, by 2,911 votes. Mahuta represented the Hauraki-Waikato area since 2008.

• She is the youngest Member of Parliament in New Zealand since 1853. Earlier, James Stuart-Wortley was the youngest, who was elected in the 1853 election at the age of 20 years and 7 months.

• Soon after she became a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, she delivered a speech inside the parliament, which became popular online. In her speech, Maipi-Clarke spoke up for her community. She gave her first speech in her native language and criticized the policies of the New Zealand government that treat the country’s indigenous people unfairly. She quoted while addressing her community,
  

  I will die for you … but I will also live for you.”

  

• After Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke’s speech at the New Zealand Parliament House, many political parties asked her to join them.

• Before elections, Te Pāti Māori considered both Maipi-Clarke and her father as candidates for the Hauraki-Waikato area. The party wanted a younger viewpoint, so they chose her to contest in the 2023 general election. She was fourth on the party list.

  

• According to Maipi-Clarke, the voting age should be 16 in New Zealand. Referring to the 2022 Supreme Court case Make It 16 Incorporated v Attorney-General, she supported a new law from the Sixth Labour Government which was introduced in August 2023. This law would let 16-year-olds vote in local elections.

• In December 2023, Maipi-Clarke criticized the National-led coalition government, claiming that it “attacked my whole world from every corner.” She talked about health, the environment, water, land, natural resources, and children as areas where she disagrees with the Government.

  

• Reportedly, she runs a Maori community garden in New Zealand. Besides politics and activism, she teaches kids about gardening. According to Maipi-Clarke, she wants to be a voice for the younger generation in her community.

• Maipi-Clarke’s grandfather, Taitimu Maipi, is associated with Nga Tamatoa, a group fighting for indigenous rights, in New Zealand.

• She got interested in researching Matariki after she once listened to a lecture by Rangi Mātāmua.

• In 2023, during political campaigns, Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke addressed the New Zealand people and talked about Maramataka and Matariki.

  

• She is interested in guiding her community’s traditional ways in the modern world through Maara Kai (food sovereignty), Taatai Arorangi (Maaori astronomy), and Maramataka Maaori (Maaori lunar cycle).

• When she was seventeen years old, she published a book titled Hina. The book was about Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar.

  

• Maipi-Clarke is often pictured participating in theatre and stage shows organised by the Maori community in New Zealand.

  

• Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke is a trained boxer. She often participated in various national-level boxing competitions during her college days.