Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke confirms party, decries 'tribalism'

Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke has confirmed she is committed to continuing under Te Pāti Māori in the upcoming election, putting rumours and speculation of another split to bed.

The party is experiencing a tumultuous period with a significant decrease in support amid internal dispute, infighting, and court action over Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi's membership and the expulsion of Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris.

Maipi-Clarke, as the party’s youngest MP, has been stuck in an awkward position between two warring sides within the party.

She told Te Karere’s Scotty Morrison that the biggest challenge she’s faced over the past three years hasn’t been legislation or facing off with the "most racist government" – but tribalism politics.

“Tribalism politics has been really hard for me to navigate and over nine months trying to make sure that, 'oh, you don't offend anyone', but then, literally, millions of people telling me: 'me haere koe ki runga i tēnei ara' (you should follow that path), 'tēnā ara' (or that path).

“And grateful for [the] advice – but you can only afford to make one pathway and kua tino mārama (I’m very clear), kua tino whakatau (I’m very decided), kua tino tau ahau (I’m very settled). I'm clear on the purpose that why we're here and that's to get on with the mahi.”

She said listening to what’s being said at the ground level, she didn’t know what people were more scared of: The Government returning or division among Māori.

When asked how she planned to handle the burden of competing expectations among Māori she said it was her decision.

“I think what's devastating is that ko ngā kupu ōhākī, ko ngā tongikura a Kingi Tuheitia i tōna Koroneihana whakamutunga, ana, ko te whakakotahi i te iwi Māori (King Tūheitia’s last words, his proverb spoken at his final coronation celebration, that is, for Māori to unite)… we've seen it deteriorate, we've seen it divide for various reasons – and for valid reasons – but at the end of the day it's unfair to kind of put that pressure on a person, to try and think that they're going to solve that.”

Her decision to stay with Te Pāti Māori is layered, she said, one reason being unity, another is the increase of Māori participation.

“I think it's great that we're seeing so many Māori candidates actually engage and wanting to do politics,” she said.

“But at the moment everyone's confused and people are divided, [yet] we've never seen so many Māori engage in politics ever before. So, we can have a lot of Māori MPs if we actually want to work together."

Another reason for staying comes from further afield.

She said travelling and visiting indigenous places around the world she is often told how unusual it is to have an all-indigenous party and indigenous MPs across parliament.

“That's such a far-fetched reality for many people. So, to see us – and ehara ēnei kōrero i te kōrero whakahīhī engari (and this isn’t about blowing our own trumpet but) I truly do think that we are leading indigenous politics globally.

“Although I do know how much we have to protect, correct and grow in our own tribalism spaces, and our own spaces at home and our community, we can't let this come to waste.”

She adds: “We're 20 years young coming up against different, huge political infrastructure parties across hundreds of years, so I'm not there for people in the party.”

Relationship with Te Pāti Māori colleagues

Maipi-Clarke said she has “a lot of time” for co-leader Rawiri Waititi. “He was the reason why I was inspired to come into politics,” she said.

But when you’re in parliament, debating in the chamber, it can be extremely isolating and intimidating because, “you're going up against the 115 people who are against you”, she said.

“The hardest thing that needs to be restored and to trust is when you've got your own four people divided with each other... because I have a lot of respect and relationship with Tākuta and Mariameno as well, so to be conflicted in that was, 'woah, are we even more isolated?' Who's the real enemy here?”

So does she feel isolated now?

“I think politics is politics. The thing that I get told the most in these past, especially these three months, is we want to look after you, we want to save you, we want to be there for you. Whether that's my own family, that's my own hapū (subtribe), whether that's tribe, whether that's Te Pāti Māori, whether that's politicians in general.

“And my answer has been quite confronting for a lot of people: you can't save me in politics, it's politics.”

She explains: “There's 30,000 people that could be in this seat but it's only me that can go in that debating chamber and if you think you're going to come save me, you're not!”

The 23-year-old said it's confronting for people because they don’t realise how young she is until they meet her. “When they see me and they're just like 'we want to take you home!' Well, then if I wanted that to happen, I would have chosen to go home.”

'I’ve set a time-limit'

Maipi-Clarke said she’s still passionate about politics and serving the people of Hauraki-Waikato.

“I think you have this really naive energy engine room in your soul when you're so young, you think you can solve all the world's problems, especially when you've got a grandfather and grandparents like mine, and you just use that energy while you can.

“I'm not going to be here for long. I've had a set time limit – if I'm lucky enough to use that time limit.”

She said there's a lot of things she wished she could be doing but “when you've got the momentum in yourself to execute the capabilities that you want to do, use that while you can”.

She also feels a sense of obligation and responsibility to represent Māori in parliament.

“I'm a product of something bigger than myself. When we talk about kōhanga reo, when we talk about wharekura, when we talk about our whānau up in Te Tai Tokerau teaching maramataka, you're like a product of that work.

“So to see that in the highest institute that we have in this country, in a Westminister system, it's so confronting for even our own people, but also the government themselves.”

'We can get two people in there' – strategy for Hauraki-Waikato

In the Hauraki-Waikato electorate, Maipi-Clarke faces a formidable opponent in Labour’s Kingi Kiriona, a popular and well-respected leader in education, broadcasting, te reo Māori, and kapa haka.

Her strategy to win back the seat?

“For me it's never been about fighting over seats, but building tables. So when you enter the system, naturally it's going to be a competition because it's this whole divide-and-conquer tactics that we face. We've seen that within our party, we've seen that across many different spheres,” she said.

“I think Kingi would be a great advocate for our people and I'm willing to work alongside, under the guidance of Te Arikinui kia whakakotahi ai a Hauraki-Waikato. We can get two people in there.”

And if she doesn’t win the seat back?

“Ki te kore au e tutuki ka hoki au ki te kāinga, māmā noa iho tēnā. (If I don’t succeed I’ll just go back home, that’s easy),”she said.

But she believes the Hauraki-Waikato electorate has a bigger role to play in the upcoming election.

“Hauraki-Waikato could be a potential kingmaker seat and that can only come from a minority party that will determine government, and that's in our hands.

She adds: “We have the youngest electorate in the country and we also have a diverse way where we can get two people in but at the same time. Kei roto i ō mātou ringaringa (It’s in our hands), we can literally decide who the government is, not only just get seven Māori seats in.”