Rawiri Wikuki Waititi (born 17 October )
is a New Zealand politician and
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
leader. He has been co-leader of
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
since 2020, alongside
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi.
Ngarewa-Packer st ...
. He has served as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for since
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
,
when his election returned Te Pāti Māori to the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...
following their defeat at the
2017 general election.
Born and raised in the eastern
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...
, Waititi traces his lineage to many
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
but has firm links to
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and
Ngāti Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...
. An advocate of
progressive political policies, Waititi is a fluent
Māori speaker, and is also an
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
leader,
Ringatū
The Ringatū church is a Māori church in New Zealand, founded in 1868 by Te Kooti Arikirangi te Turuki, commonly called Te Kooti. The symbol for the movement is an upraised hand, or ("hand") ("raised") in Māori.
Origins
Te Kooti was a wi ...
minister, and
kapa haka exponent. He has been prominent and vocal in his opposition to the policies towards Māori of the
Sixth National Government of New Zealand since the
2023 general election.
Personal life
Waititi was born in
Ōpōtiki
Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...
,
[ the eldest of four children. His birthday is 17 October. He spent his first 12 years living in Whangaparāoa, in the eastern ]Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...
near Cape Runaway, and was schooled under the guidance of his kaumātua (elders) and his hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
, Te Whānau a Kauaetangohia. There he went to kōhanga reo and Te Kura Mana Māori o Whangaparāoa, before he moved to West Auckland when he was 13[ to live with his paternal aunt, June Mariu, in Te Atatū North (now Te Atatū Peninsula). He did his secondary schooling at Rutherford High School][ (now Rutherford College) alongside another politician, ]Simon Bridges
Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a New Zealand retired politician, broadcaster and lawyer. He served as Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of t ...
.
Waititi is of the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāi Tai, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tūhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning 'steep' or 'high noon'. Tūhoe people a ...
, Ngāti Awa
Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...
, Te Arawa
Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...
, Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...
, Ngāi Te Rangi
Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tūhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east.
...
and Ngāti Ranginui
Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not ext ...
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
, and also has "firm links" to Ngāti Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...
. He is a father of five and husband to Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, the daughter of John Tamihere
John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was a member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet minister in the New Zea ...
. He is the grandnephew of Hoani Waititi
Hoani Retimana Waititi (12 April 1926 – 30 September 1965) was a notable New Zealand teacher, educationalist and community leader. Of Māori people, Māori descent, he identified with the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui iwi. He was born in Whangapar ...
.
Political career
Labour Party, 2014–2016
In the , Waititi ran for the Labour Party in Waiariki. As he was not placed on the Labour Party list, his only way to Parliament was to win Waiariki, however, he lost the seat of Waiariki to Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell
Te Ururoa James William Ben Flavell (born 7 December 1955), also known as Hemi Flavell, is a New Zealand politician.
Born in Tokoroa, Flavell was a teacher, principal, and education executive before beginning a political career. He won the Wai ...
.
Defection to the Māori Party
In 2016, following Kīngi Tūheitia Paki's speech backing the Māori Party, Waititi announced he would be supporting the Māori Party.
2020 general election
On 23 February 2020, Waititi was announced as the Māori Party candidate for Waiariki for the . Following his nomination, Waititi said that there was "an imminent need, now more than ever that Māori have a voice who solely prioritises their aspirations and their needs and that is unapologetic about doing so. The Māori Party is the only party who can do that." He was endorsed by Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau a Apanui.
At the 2020 election, Waititi successfully unseated the Labour MP Tāmati Coffey, winning by 836 votes, and became the MP for Waiariki.
The final election results showed that the Māori Party had won 1.2% of the party vote, entitling them to two seats, so Waititi's electorate win meant not only his entry to Parliament, but also that of female co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi.
Ngarewa-Packer st ...
. Of the forty-two new MPs elected to the 53rd Parliament, two are from the Māori Party.
Under the Māori Party's constitution, its co-leaders must be drawn from its MPs first, with one male and one female co-leader. At a special general meeting of the party on 28 October 2020, Waititi was confirmed as the male co-leader, replacing his father-in-law, John Tamihere
John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was a member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet minister in the New Zea ...
.
First term, 2020–2023
Before being sworn in to the 53rd parliament, Waititi performed a waerea to protest being required to pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
without reference to the Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
. On 26 November, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer walked out of Parliament after the Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
Trevor Mallard declined his motion that the Māori Party be allowed to speak for 15 minutes during the opening on Parliament on the grounds that MPs from smaller parties were not scheduled to deliver their maiden speeches until the following week. Waititi described Mallard's decision and the parliamentary system as unfair.
In late December 2020 and early January, Waititi participated in negotiations with 16 prisoners who were involved in unrest at Waikeria Prison stemming from allegations of inhumane and unhygienic conditions at the prison. Several of the prisoners had requested the presence of a Māori leader such as Waititi as a prerequisite to ending the unrest. He stated, "these men belong to whanau... that they deserve the right to be treated humanely, with fresh water, food and clean clothing and they deserve to have someone advocating for them." Following five days of unrest, the prisoners surrendered to the authorities following negotiations involving Waititi.
On 9 February, Waititi was ejected from Parliamentary proceedings by Speaker Mallard for refusing to wear a necktie
A necktie, long tie, or simply a tie, is a cloth article of formal neckwear or office attire worn for decorative or symbolic purposes, resting under a folded shirt collar or knotted at the throat, and usually draped down the chest. On rare o ...
in line with Parliament's business attire dress core. Waititi instead wore a hei tiki necktie, which he described as Māori business attire. Waititi had earlier criticised wearing neckties, describing them as "colonial noose during his maiden speech last year. When Waititi attempted to ask Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis a supplementary question, Mallard denied him permission to speak since he was not wearing a tie. When Waititi sought a point of order
In parliamentary procedure, a point of order occurs when someone draws attention to a rules violation in a meeting of a deliberative assembly.
Explanation and uses
In ''Robert's Rules of Order, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'' (RONR), a ...
, Mallard ordered him to leave. Waititi was supported by fellow Māori Party MP Ngarewa-Packer, who wore a tie in mockery of the rules. The following day, a Standing Orders meeting accepted a Māori Party submission proposing the elimination of neckties from Parliament's business attire. As a result, Mallard announced that it would no longer be compulsory to wear ties in Parliament.
On 12 May, Waititi was ejected from parliamentary proceedings following a heated argument with the opposition National Party leader Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
about the proposed creation of a Māori Health Authority
Te Aka Whai Ora () was an independent New Zealand government statutory entity tasked with managing Māori health policies, services, and outcomes. The agency was one of four national bodies that oversaw New Zealand's health system since 2022, ...
. In the past two weeks, National had alleged the Labour Government was promoting a "separatist agenda" through the Māori Health Authority and other policies seeking to fulfil partnership responsibilities under the Treaty of Waitangi. Waititi accused Collins of racism and sought to raise a point of order about indigenous rights. When his point of order was denied by the Speaker Mallard, Waititi performed a haka
Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
in protest, prompting the Speaker to order him to leave Parliament. Waititi left with Māori Party co-leader Ngarewa-Packer and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, who expressed solidarity with him.
In October 2021, Waititi criticised the Government's abandonment of its previous COVID-19 elimination strategy and expressed concerns that the new COVID-19 Protection Framework was insufficient in protecting Māori and boosting the Māori vaccination rate.
In September 2022, Waititi and fellow Māori Party MP Ngarewa-Packer voted against the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day Act 2022, which created a once-off public holiday on 26 September to commemorate the death of Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the List of monarchs in Britain by length of ...
. Waititi objected to the holiday on the grounds that no similar event had taken place for any deceased Māori leaders and claimed it was "example of colonialism
Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
in practice". Waititi further stated after a week of avoiding commenting on republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
that New Zealand "must acknowledge the brutal genocidal and ongoing impact of colonialism, of the imperial project that was overseen by the House of Windsor
The House of Windsor is the reigning house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The house's name was inspired by the historic Windsor Castle estate. The house was founded on 17 July 1917, when King George V changed the na ...
and its forebears". Waititi's remarks were criticised as insensitive and disrespectful by National Party MPs Michael Woodhouse and Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
.
In May 2023, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer were ordered to leave Parliament by Speaker Adrian Rurawhe after they staged a haka
Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
(dance) to welcome former Labour MP Meka Whaitiri. The Māori Party caucus had not sought permission from the Speaker or other parties to hold the haka.
In mid July 2023, Waititi joked about poisoning ACT Party leader David Seymour during Te Pati Māori's annual conference. While referring to the karaka seedpod necklace around his neck, Waititi said: "These are karaka berries and they've still got the poison in them. So next time I go into Parliament this is what I'm going to do. When David Seymour's not looking, I'm going to go like this into his water... There you are, re-indigenise yourself with some native seeds." Waititi's remarks were condemned by Seymour, who demanded an apology.
On 29 August 2023, Waititi was suspended from Parliament for 24 hours after referring to suppressed court proceedings while asking a question during parliamentary proceedings. Though Waititi asked the question under parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...
, his reference to the court proceedings breached two parliamentary Standing Orders. In addition, Speaker Rurawhe referred a "general question" of breaching court suppressions to Parliament's Privileges Committee. As punishment, Waititi was barred from voting, sitting on a committee or entering the debating chamber for 24 hours. On 28 August 2024, Parliament's Privileges Committee chairperson Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
upheld Speaker Rurawhe's disciplinary action against Waititi for breaching the court suppression order, stating "that free speech came with a responsibility not to frustrate the court's jurisdiction."
During an interview with TVNZ
Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"),
more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
journalist Jack Tame
Jack Renfrey Tame (born March 1987) is a New Zealand television and radio journalist and presenter. He is the host of TVNZ’s political show Q+A, and a presenter at ''Newstalk ZB''.
Early life
Tame was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, the s ...
10 September 2023, Waititi advocated a wealth tax and removing GST from food, defended Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority), and advocated a policy of neutrality. Waititi also denied that his party's sports policy' comments about "Māori genetic makeup being stronger than others" were racist. These comments were subsequently deleted from Te Pāti Māori's website. When challenged by Tame, he said that Te Pāti Māori was "trying to empower people that are climbing out from the bottom of the bonnet of colonial violence for the last 193 years" by encouraging pride in their heritage.
Second term, 2023–present
In the 2023 general election, Waititi again contested the Waiariki electorate. He received 21,500 votes out of 28,958 for an outright majority. Waititi performed a haka in the chamber prior to swearing his oath of allegiance to King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
.
In mid-December 2023, Waititi retained his position as Te Pāti Māori co-leader and joined Parliament's finance & expenditure select committee. He also became the party's finance, economic development, trade & enterprise, revenue, procurement, defence, foreign affairs, intelligence, Māori performance arts, and arts, culture & heritage spokesperson.
In mid-March 2023, Waititi introduced a member's bill to amend the Goods and Services Tax Act to remove the Goods and Services Tax from all food products and non-alcohol products. The bill was defeated at its first reading on 22 March 2024, with only Te Pāti Māori supporting it.
On 14 November 2024, Waititi along with Ngarewa-Packer and Labour MP Peeni Henare joined fellow Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke in performing an impromptu protest haka
Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
, which disrupted parliamentary proceedings during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. On 10 December, Waititi and the other three MPs were referred to Parliament's Privileges Committee for their involvement in the haka.
On 1 April 2025, Waititi, Ngarewa-Packer and Maipi-Clark declined to appear before the Privileges Committee, claiming they had been denied key legal rights such as a joint hearing, restrictions on their legal representation Christopher Finlayson
Christopher Francis Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the New Zealand National Party, National Party.
He was elected to Parliament in 2005. In the Fifth National Government of New Zeal ...
, expert testimony from tikanga (Māori culture) expert Tā Pou Temara denied, hearing scheduling conflicts being ignored and concerns about disciplinary action against Maipi-Clarke. On 2 April, the Privileges Committee's chairperson Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
confirmed that the privileges hearing would go ahead regardless of whether the three TPM MPs turned up. In response, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer announced that Te Pāti Māori would boycott the hearing and hold its own "alternative independent hearing," dismissing the Privileges Committee as a "kangaroo court
Kangaroo court is an informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court ma ...
."
On 14 May 2025, the Privileges Committee censured Waititi and his colleagues for "acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House in the discharge of their duty" during the haka protest. He and Ngarewa-Packer were suspended from Parliament for 21 days while Maipi-Clark was suspended for a week. Te Pāti Māori issued a statement denouncing the verdict as "the worst punishment handed down ever in our history." On 20 May 2025, Parliament adopted Leader of the House Chris Bishop
Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the ...
's motion that the parliamentary debate on the TPM MPs' suspension be delayed until 5 June, allowing them to participate in the budget
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
debate on 22 May. On 5 June, parliament voted to suspend Maipi-Clark, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi for 21 days.
A RNZ-Reid Research poll found that, a majority supported the punishment or thought it should be stronger. 37.0% said it was "about right"; 17.2% said it was "too lenient", and 36.2% said it was "too harsh".
Views and positions
Abortion
Waititi voted in favour of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022, which established safe zones around abortion providers.
Conversion therapy
Waititi has supported the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022
The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that bans conversion therapy practices that seek to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The Bi ...
, which banned conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
. During the Bill's first reading in August 2022, he claimed that conversion therapy was based on European colonial ideas about gender and sexuality that were alien to Māori people
Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...
.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
In March 2022, Waititi supported the Russia Sanctions Act 2022
The Russia Sanctions Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament passed by the New Zealand Parliament that establishes the framework for autonomous sanctions against Russia in response to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. This legislation would allow sancti ...
, which created an autonomous sanctions regime in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. While condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he also questioned New Zealand's failure to condemn the United States' invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
He later called the conflict a "proxy war
In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...
for the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
", stating that New Zealand should stay out of the conflict. He said that New Zealand was acting like a puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
of the United States, a statement that saw disagreement from then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...
and other political leaders across the aisle. He supported a position of neutrality. In a Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
post on 21 March 2023, he stated that New Zealand should be the " Switzerland of the South Pacific", saying (in reference to the conflict) that Māori should not fight "other indigenous peoples on their ''whenua''."
Self-governance
In February 2024, Waititi has advocated for Māori self-governance
Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority (sociology), authority. It may refer to pers ...
, stating that Māori have a right to govern themselves. He has also called for the establishment of a Māori Parliament.
References
External links
Māori Party profile
Profile at New Zealand Parliament website
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waititi, Rawiri
1980s births
Living people
Te Pāti Māori MPs
New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates
Ngāti Ranginui people
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui people
Whakatōhea people
Ngāi Tūhoe people
Ngāti Awa people
Te Arawa people
Ngāti Tūwharetoa people
Ngāi Te Rangi people
People from Ōpōtiki
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders
Rawiri
Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election
Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives