Te Tai Tokerau

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Te Tai Tokerau is a New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorate. Since 2005, it has been held by Māori Party MP Hone Harawira.[1].

Te Tai Tokerau is the northernmost Māori seat, and covers an area between Cape Reinga in the Far North of the North Island to a boundary cutting through West Auckland. The major population centres are Whangarei, the Bay of Islands and north and west Auckland. The electorate contains all of the Ngā Puhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu tribal areas, and part of Ngāti Whātua's territory (rohe).

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[edit] History

Te Tai Tokerau's boundaries are similar those of the pre-MMP Northern Māori seat. Te Tai Tokerau was created ahead of the first MMP election in 1996.

Northern Māori had been held by the Labour Party since the 1938 election, when longstanding Reform MP Taurekareka Henare was beaten by Labour's Paraire Karaka Paikea. In 1993, after 55 years of his party holding the seat, Labour MP Bruce Gregory was beaten by Henare's great grandson, Tau Henare, standing for New Zealand First, ending Labour's unbroken hold on the four Māori seats. Henare went on to win Te Tai Tokerau after the switch to MMP, and New Zealand First won all five of the newly-drawn Māori seats.

After a tumultuous parliamentary term which saw all but one of the five New Zealand First Māori MPs defect to other parties, (including Henare himself, who went on to found Mauri Pacific), Labour won all six Māori seats contested at the 1999 election. In Te Tai Tokerau, Tau Henare was beaten into third place behind behind the New Zealand First candidate and Dover Samuels, who Henare had beaten three years previous.

However, Labour's losing the five Māori seats in 1996 showed that the Māori vote was contestable for the first time in five decades, as the new electoral system coupled with the rise of small parties meant that non-Labour candidacy in these seats was more feasible than under First Past the Post.

The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy of 2004-05 proved to be the catalyst for the second challenge to Labour party domination of the Māori seats, this time from the Māori Party. At the 2005 election, Samuels and three other Labour Māori MPs lost their seats to Māori Party challengers. In Te Tai Tokerau, the winner was Hone Harawira.

[edit] Members of Parliament for Te Tai Tokerau

Name Party Elected Left Office Reason
Tau Henare NZ First 1996 1999 defeated
Dover Samuels Labour 1999, 2002 2005 defeated
Hone Harawira Māori Party 2005 (incumbent)

[edit] List MPs from Te Tai Tokerau

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested Te Tai Tokerau. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.

Name Party Elected Left Office
Dover Samuels (1) Labour 1996 1999
Dover Samuels (2) Labour 2005 current MP

[edit] Election results

[edit] 2005 election

Party Candidate Votes % Party Votes %
99 MP - - - 33 0.16
ACT - - - 49 0.24
Alliance - - - 6 0.03
Christian Heritage - - - 18 0.09
Democrats - - - 10 0.03
Destiny Ernest Morton 664 3.39 80 0.22
Direct Democracy - - - 3 0.01
Family Rights PP - - - 17 0.06
Green - - - 533 2.65
Labour NoN Dover Samuels 6352 32.46 9788 48.75
Legalise Cannabis Judy Daniels 574 2.93 126 0.63
Libertarianz - - - 3 0.01
Māori Party YesY Hone Harawira 9965 50.93 6151 30.64
National - - - 994 4.95
NZ First - - - 1559 7.77
One NZ - - - 5 0.02
Progressive - - - 71 0.35
Republic of NZ - - - 6 0.03
United - - - 81 0.4
IND Mangu Mere 1250 6.39 - -
IND Hana Maxwell 209 1.07 - -
total valid votes 19,566 20,076
Māori Party gain from Labour Majority 3,613

[edit] References

[edit] External links