Tāmaki Makaurau by-election: Dynasty v underdog
Thursday, 4 September 2025
One is an experienced former minister who carries the mana of a political family dynasty. The other is a former newsreader who carries the underdog status. Both have made faux pas on the campaign, both have had stand out moments, and both could win. Political reporter Lloyd Burr looks at the two leading candidates.
In 1914, Taurekareka Henare entered Parliament as the MP for the Northern Māori electorate. He held that role for 24 years.
His son James was a high achiever too, fighting for the Māori battalion in the Second World War, eventually going on to be its commander as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was knighted in the 70s.
Sir James’ sister Ihapera was high up in the Māori Women’s Welfare League. His son Erima was the boss of the Māori Language Commission. Erima’s son is Peeni Henare, a Labour MP elected in 2014 who’s held eight different ministerial portfolios, including defence.
Peeni’s cousin is Tau Henare, the former New Zealand First-turned-National Party MP probably most famous for being punched in the face at Parliament by Labour’s Trevor Mallard in 2007.
The Henare name is synonymous with leadership in Māoridom and is arguably a political dynasty.
While Peeni Henare is a sitting MP, he’s a list MP. He doesn’t have an electorate to carry on his shoulders and he desperately wants that electorate to be Tāmaki Makaurau. He held it for nine years until Te Pati Māori took it from him by just 42 votes in 2023. It’s personal for him and he wants it back.
It’s up for grabs again following the death of Te Pati Māori’s Takutai Tarsh Kemp.
But even with the mana of his family name and his political experience, Henare is by no means a shoo-in. He’s up against former Mai FM, TVNZ, and Newshub journalist and newsreader Oriini Kaipara.
Kaipara and I worked for Newshub at the same time, but I only ever met her once. It was in the makeup room after I was fill-in presenting the AM Show and she was getting ready for the 11:30 bulletin. We laughed over my interview with a puppet (yes, an actual puppet).
That was my only interaction with her. But she’s a well known trailblazer, being the first person in the world to present a prime time news show with a moko kauae (facial tattoo). She’s won journalism awards and featured in documentaries and other films.
Somewhere in all of that, she managed to fit in raising four kids.
While she’s filled in occasionally as the host of TV3’s political show Newshub Nation, Kaipara has limited political experience and knowledge of how Parliament works. She is technically the underdog in this race, but at the same time might just be the frontrunner.
Kaipara’s strengths
She has leapt into the race head first, in the deep end, with gusto, which has been both a strength and a weakness.
One of her strongest moments wasn’t anything she said or any zingers she threw at Henare, but the way she responded to a Destiny Church protester who interrupted the Waatea News debate: she started singing.
It was the perfect tonic. Her (beautiful) voice travelled around the venue and the crowd joined in too, as Henare’s press secretary-turned-bouncer Bronson dragged the guy out. It was an organic moment and a rare refreshing moment in politics.
Kaipara’s broadcasting skills have also shone through, giving her answers with conviction and passion, and wrapped in a deep understanding of te ao Māori.
She knows how to perform to an audience too, coming across as genuine and warm.
But she’s made mistakes too
They were mainly all during an interview on TVNZ’s Q&A, which was a bit of a trainwreck. She rambled, went off on tangents and at times spoke in incomprehensible rhetoric, while host Jack Tame sat there with a confused look on his face for most of it.
What does she bring to the table that Henare doesn’t? “I am a wahine. It’s not a gender difference, it’s actually wahine Māori are bred to become a caretaker,” she said, before delving into the cultural significance of the differences between women and men.
She then said Henare should contest the leadership of the Labour Party and become the first Māori Prime Minister. “That’s what’s being shared with us out in the field and online,” she says.
So if he’s good enough to be Prime Minister, surely he’s good enough to be the MP for Tāmaki Makaurau? “You cannot lead an entire country and hold an electorate. You’d have to split your energy and that’s not possible,” was her answer.
That’s despite every Prime Minister under MMP (apart from Bill English) being an electorate MP.
What has Te Pati Māori achieved in the last two terms of Parliament that has materially improved the lives of Māori, Tame asks.
“In Opposition where Te Pati Māori has,” she starts. “I mean, they have repealed quite a few, you know, and actively repealed or still in the process of repealing. I know, there’s not much.”
A confused Tame asks what she means. Kaipara reaches for her cup of tea. “I’m trying to think,” she says. “Well there’s the, oh hang on, I need my phone.”
Tame asks her if she’s referring to laws the government is repealing (because Opposition parties can’t repeal laws because they’re not in power).
“No, no, I mean Te Pati Māori. Sorry I don’t have my phone on me,” she responded. A perplexed Tame gave a quick “Ka pai” before moving on.
Her inability to properly answer questions was also evident on Te Ao with Moana. Asked if she was approached to stand or if she put her hand up, she replied: “I did put my hand up and I was approached”.
What about Henare? Let’s start with his strengths
He’s been in the game for more than a decade and has had ample time to refine his campaigning skills and it shows.
Henare’s presence is arguably his biggest strength. You can feel it in the room. He’s relaxed, comfortable, and commands respect. Whether that’s an age thing, a Henare dynasty thing, or something else, it works in his favour.
His experience is also a big weapon in his arsenal. He survived the turmoil of the Cunliffe years, the struggle of the Little years, and the highs and lows of the Ardern years. He’s been both an Opposition MP and a senior government minister - which will have given him immense understanding of the machinery of the public sector.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing
Henare went off-piste during the Waatea News debate by saying Labour would repeal the ban on gang patches being worn and displayed in public.
Problem is, that’s not Labour’s policy and Henare would have - or should have - known that. Yes, Labour voted against the ban when it was making its way through Parliament but the party’s position is that they’d keep it if elected to government.
Henare’s comments became a distraction, gave ammunition to the government to make Labour look weak on crime, and forced deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni into an awkward state of damage control.
As a senior MP, Henare should have known better. It looked like he was going rogue and making up policy on the hoof. As hard as he might have found it, he should have argued the case for keeping it.
The other niggle that Henare hasn’t managed to communicate properly is the significance he places on being an electorate MP and why he’s not happy just being a list MP.
Voters will likely look at Henare, see that he’s already an MP, and then vote for Kaipara to get her into Parliament too. Two MPs for Tāmaki Makaurau, right?
Kaipara has successfully exploited this, saying he’s already an MP and will remain an MP if she wins. Essentially, her message has been ‘a vote for her is a two-for-the-price-of-one deal’.
And Henare hasn’t managed to bat away that assumption, only talking about the importance of having a mandate of the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.
If he wins, a new MP comes into Parliament from Labour’s list, which would be Hamilton East-based former unionist Georgie Dansey.
“We’d bring in another Maori voice on this kaupapa which is Georgie Dansey, a wahine Māori” he told Tame during a Q&A interview. Tame pointed out that you’d also get that with Kaipara, who’s also in Auckland, not Hamilton.
“Tāmaki Makaurau is just as close to Kirikiriroa now. In fact, most people in Tāmaki Makaurau will say that Hamilton is a suburb of Auckland,” Henare replied, somewhat bizarrely.
It probably had the opposite effect of what he intended by working in Kaipara’s favour.
Then there’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wishing Henare well and urging people to vote for him, which - despite her intentions - could be more of a kiss of death than a vote booster.
Other considerations
While there’s early voting in this by-election, the day itself isn’t exactly conducive to the focus being on the polls. It could mean voter turnout is a factor.
It’s the Māori Queen’s coronation week, or koroneihana, where thousands of people from Tāmaki Makaurau will have travelled to Tūrangawaiwai Marae to reflect, commemorate and celebrate Kuini Nga wai and the Kingitanga movement.
The immense focus on this may mean people are too busy to vote, forget to vote, or just can’t be bothered after such an important event in the Māori calendar.
The other consideration might seem trivial: the All Blacks are playing at Eden Park.
It sounds silly but general election dates are chosen carefully so they don’t clash with big rugby games. In this case, the date clashes with a huge match between the All Blacks and the Springboks.
Will it have an effect? Possibly. Although it might just mean smaller crowds at both Henare’s and Kaipara’s election night parties.