Labour Party MP and Government minister Meka Whaitiri has revealed she is leaving the party to stand for Te Pāti Māori at this year's election.
She is currently MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, the Māori electorate which takes in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington.
She entered Parliament after winning the seat at a by-election in 2013.
Whaitiri took 55.6% of the vote at the 2020 election, with Te Pāti Māori's Heather Te Au-Skipworth second with a shade under 31%.
In that election, the Labour Party attracted more than 66% of the party vote in the seat, and Te Pāti Māori almost 12%.
Her background
She was born in Manutuke, near Gisborne, and grew up in the freezing works town of Hawke's Bay's Whakatu. Her mother Mei was the model used for Napier's famous Pania statue on Marine Parade.
According to Hawke's Bay Today, she worked at a meat works, and later gained a masters degree and played netball and softball to a high level.
Before entering Parliament she had senior roles with both Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Kahungunu iwi, was a deputy secretary at the Department of Labour, and a senior adviser to Parekura Horomia when he was Minister of Māori Affairs.
Staffer dispute
In 2018 she lost her positions as minister outside Cabinet with responsibility for customs and associate agriculture, local government, and Crown/Māori relations following a dispute with a staffer.
It was alleged she shouted at and manhandled the staffer while at an event. Whaitiri disputed some aspects of what took place, but then PM Jacinda Ardern said at the time there was no doubt an incident had occurred.
Whaitiri regained the Customs Minister role in 2020 and also holds the food safety and veterans portfolios. She is also associate minister for agriculture and statistics and had a lead role in the Hawke's Bay cyclone recovery. She sits outside Cabinet.
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