Emotional tributes paid to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp
Thursday, 26 June 2025
Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana 'Tarsh' Kemp has died, aged 50.
She was elected to Parliament in 2023, narrowly beating Peeni Henare, who paid tribute to his friend on Thursday.
Kemp took leave last year to focus on healing from kidney disease.
MPs from across the House have paid emotional tributes to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana ‘Tarsh’ Kemp, who died aged 50 on Thursday morning.
Her death shocked colleagues at Parliament, who said she had “devoted every breath” to the kaupapa. MPs across the House dried away tears as they spoke about her short time in politics — she was elected to Parliament in 2023 — and noted she worked right up until she died.
Kemp had been at Parliament earlier this week, and went home to Auckland on Wednesday night. She died before 3am on Thursday.
Parliament’s flags were flown at half mast, and MPs made tributes to her in the House before rising for a two-week break.
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka, who is her relative, said it was a sad day for the iwi of Taranaki, for her whānau across the North Island, and for everyone who knew her.
“This is a matter that brings sorrow to my heart and tears to my eyes,” he said.
From Manurewa Marae chief executive, to Parliament
Kemp beat Labour’s Peeni Henare by just 42 votes to win the Tamaki Makaurau seat in the 2023 election. But she became unwell afterwards. She took six-weeks leave last year to focus on healing from kidney disease.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told Stuff she had known Kemp for a long time, and saw her as “the peacemaker”.
“She was raised by her kuia, so she always had this very old, calm way about her. I always remember her as the weaver between us all,” she said.
Ngarewa-Packer said Kemp’s passing had left Te Pāti Māori “broken”. Thursday was going to have been an exciting day for the party, with the suspension of their co-leaders coming to an end. But then they woke to news that their colleague had died.
“She’d just had some of her best days. She was very passionate about what she was doing. We thought, actually, that she was doing much better. So we are just devastated. This was not what we expected to wake up to.
“I think the hardest thing for today is realising she’s not going to show up tomorrow,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
Just last week, she was celebrating her 50th birthday and Matariki, with a party thrown by her whānau. She wrote on social media: “As I age gracefully so do my aunties and uncles, and I realise we don’t celebrate together enough.”
Labour’s Peeni Henare said her death came as a shock to everyone. He and fellow Labour MP Willie Jackson said Kemp was a strong wāhine who always told them she was doing well, despite her illness.
Henare said he and Kemp had a long meeting on Wednesday, before she left Parliament to head back to Tāmaki Makaurau.
“We knew her health was struggling, but this comes as such a shock… Yesterday, we sat with her for an hour talking about politics and how, despite her and I have contested the election, how close we were,” Henare said.
With tears welling in his eyes, as he spoke to reporters at Parliament on Thursday, the Labour MP said this news had been “truly shocking”.
“When you when you campaign together, when you work in a community together, you become more than colleagues. She called me brother. I called her sister. And that’s how it was. It just, it makes it so sad,” he said.
In a statement, Te Pāti Māori said Kemp - who they called their tuahine (sister) - had devoted her life to “the movement for Māori liberation”.
“She died as she lived: fighting for the cause, in service to her iwi, hapū and whānau. As a movement, we are devastated,” the party said.
During those tributes, many MPs noted Kemp’s long history of public service - which included her love of dance.
She had been the director of Hip Hop International. Manurewa MP Arena Williams said that through dance, Kemp had brought in and supported rangatahi from across South Auckland - helping them build confidence and even get drivers licenses.
Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said this was a time to support Kemp’s whānau.
“I’m reflecting on the fact that, in such a short period of time, we have lost two amazing members of Parliament; our brother, Fa'anānā Efeso Collins, and now Takutai Tarsh Kemp. It is a loss for us, but it will be even more deeply felt by her whānau,” she said.
Collins, a Green MP, died in February last year.
Kemp has whakapapa across Te Ika a Māui, and is part of the iwi Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngā iwi o Mōkai Pātea, Ngāti Tamakōpiri, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāi Te Ohuake, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Hinemanu and Ngāti Paki.
Her death is set to spark a by-election in the seat of Tāmaki Makaurau.