‘Looking forward to fighting a good fight’: Oriini Kaipara wins Tāmaki Makaurau by-election

Saturday, 6 September 2025

Oriini Kaipara will be the next MP for Tāmaki Makaurau.

Te Pāti Māori candidate Oriini Kaipara is set to win the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate by-election.

The former broadcast journalist beat Labour’s Peeni Henare by a margin of 2938 votes.

There were 43,796 people enrolled in the electorate. Only about 21% of them voted.

Henare was supported by Labour colleagues at Māhurehure Marae in Point Chevalier, where he conceded.

“The sun will still rise tomorrow and we will still feel its warmth,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday evening, he told Stuff “It’s not over until it’s over,” despite Kaipara having double his votes.

Kaipara - who received 6031 votes - was celebrating with her new Te Pāti Māori colleagues in Te Atatū, RNZ reported. Stuff, alongside 1News and the Sunday Star-Times, was not allowed at the function.

Takutai Tarsh Kemp was the MP for Tāmaki Makaurau until her death in June 2025.

“I am looking forward to fighting a good fight,” Kaipara told her supporters in a speech live streamed to the Ta Pāti Māori Facebook page.

“Thank you Tāmaki Makaurau for giving me the mandate you entrusted with Takutai [Kemp].”

Kaipara made history on Christmas Day in 2021 after becoming the first wahine with a moko kauae to anchor a primetime news bulletin.

The by-election was prompted by the death of Takutai Tarsh Kemp in June, who had won the seat for Te Pāti Māori at the 2023 general election.

There were five candidates aiming for the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate this year.

Kaipara grew up at Hoani Waititi Marae in Glen Eden and was raised by her mother in a strong Māori environment, Te Pāti Māori said in a statement.

Labour’s Peeni Henare, pictured here casting his vote, was the Tāmaki Makaurau MP until he was beaten by Takutai Tarsh Kemp in the 2023 election.

In 2019, she became the first journalist to present a TVNZ news bulletin with a moko kauae. She made history again in 2021, when she became the first wahine with the traditional chin tattoo to present Newshub’s primetime news.

Kaipara was committed to honouring the late Kemp, who she said served with “ngākau mahaki [manners] and deep love for whānau”.

Counterspin founder Kelvyn Alp, who ran for NZ Loyal.

“My commitment is to honour her legacy by being a fierce advocate for Tāmaki,” Kaipara said.

Henare from the Labour Party is a veteran to the Tāmaki Makaurau seat - previously holding the spot before the late Kemp won the last election, by just 42 votes.

Hannah Tamaki ran as a candidate for her party, Vision New Zealand.

In Saturday’s by-election, he received 3093 votes.

Kelvyn Alp, the founder and former host of alt right media platform Counterspin, was running for New Zealand Loyal, despite the party being officially de-registered last year. Twenty-three people voted for him.

Co-founder of Destiny Church Hannah Tamaki - wife of Brian Tamaki - ran for Vision New Zealand, receiving 146 votes.

Sherry-Lee Matene ran as an independent - though she wasn’t an active campaigner and there wasn’t any publicly accessible information about her online. She received 31 votes.

There had been 4932 ordinary early votes cast in the by-election as of Thursday, which didn’t include special or overseas votes, the Electoral Commission said.

People across the electorate had around 84 voting places to choose from, which was open 9am to 7pm on Saturday.

The Tāmaki Makaurau electorate stretched from Piha in West Auckland to Waiheke Island in the east, and included many suburbs around Manukau City.