Half a billion views and counting, we’ve all seen it countless times, the polarising haka that has made its way from social media to the biggest news outlets around the world.
But who was the MP that led a thundering haka to protest the Act Party legislation?
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the 22-Year-Old Te Pati Maori MP who is the youngest member of parliament since 1853.
Maipi-Clarke is a proud tangata whenua and has ancestry in the Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Te Āti Awa and Ngāi Tahu.
She descends from quite distinguished ancestry, she is the grand-niece of Maori language activist Hana Te Hemara, Taitimu Maipu, whose activism contributed to the removal of Captain Hamilton statue is her grandfather. Her four times Great Grandfather Wiremu Katene was the first Maori MP to be appointed to the Executive Council.
At age 17 she published her first book Maahina about maramataka – The Maori lunar calendar to encourage young people to take an interest in the moon and stars.
In 2023, she gave a training course to the New Zealand Warriors rugby league team about maramtaka and Matariki.
During the 2023 Election Maipi-Clarke unseated incumbent Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta by a margin of almost 3,000 votes to become the second youngest member of parliament ever and the first youngest in 170 years.
Despite her young age she has already achieved so much in so little time becoming one of the four recipients of the 2024 One Young World Politician of the Year Award.
The organisation awarded her the award because ‘her involvement in the political realm allowed young Māori and the younger generation to have a voice within New Zealand’s democracy.’
Photo Credit: Daily Mail
