The Labour Party has announced former Māori journalist Kingi Kiriona as their candidate to contest the Hauraki-Waikato seat held by Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke in this year’s general election.
“The opportunity to stand for the Labour Party, and represent the people of Hauraki-Waikato, is a huge honour,” Kiriona said in a statement.
“I am here because of the aroha and support of leaders and whānau throughout the rohe over many years. I look forward to giving back in service to them.”
The statement said he met with Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po and received her blessing to stand.
Kiriona is a respected leader in te ao Māori with a background in cultural development in education, health, broadcasting and infrastructure. He is the founder of Māori education provider, TupuOra.
A former Te Karere journalist, he is the deputy chair of Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori broadcasting funding agency, and has previously served three terms on Whakaata Māori’s board.
He is a prominent figure in Māori language revitalisation and the leader of the Waikato-based kapa haka group, Te Iti Kahurangi. The group is performing today at the Tainui regional kapa haka competition in Hamilton.
Kiriona credits his ability to lead and serve Māori and the wider public to his experiences as a father, a graduate of Kōhanga Reo and Te Panekiretanga – a language academy of te reo Māori excellence – and as a tutor of Te Iti Kahurangi.
“Throughout my journey, I have been driven by the power of nurturing potential, and the importance of empowering people, particularly rangatahi, to in turn uplift others. This is reflected in my work with my own kapahaka, Te Iti Kahurangi, which has given me a family, a home, and experiences to stand comfortably on the performance stage and the world stage,” he said.
Kiriona is known for using kapa haka as a platform to highlight and respond to topical issues, most notably in 2015 at Te Matatini when the group performed a haka that criticised Whakaata Māori’s content.
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