Te Ururoa James William Ben Flavell (born 7 December 1955), also known as Hemi Flavell, is a New Zealand politician who was a co-leader of the

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 ...

from 2013 until 2018 and represented the

Waiariki New Zealand has a large number of hot springs, known as ''waiariki'' in Māori. Many of them are used for therapeutic purposes. The highest concentration of such springs is in the Central Plateau region of the North Island, in the Taupo Volcan ...

electorate for the party in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

from 2005–2017.

Ancestry and early life

Flavell, born in

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the ...

, has affiliations to the Ngapuhi, Ngati Rangiwewehi, and Te Arawa

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

. He trained as a teacher, and taught at the secondary and tertiary level for many years. He later held a number of roles in the education sector, including school principal, and then worked as a consultant to various government agencies.

Member of Parliament

In the 2005 general election, Flavell stood as a candidate for the

in the

electorate and as 10th on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

. He won the election against the incumbent, Mita Ririnui, and entered Parliament. The Waiariki electorate was contested by two contenders in the : the incumbent and Ririnui. Flavell was once again confirmed. The Waiariki electorate was contested by three contenders in the : Flavell, Annette Sykes of the Mana Party and Louis Te Kani of the Labour Party. Flavell was returned to Parliament for the third successive time. In the

48th New Zealand Parliament The 48th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined at a general election held on 17 September 2005. The new parliament met for the first time on 7 November 2005. It was dissolved on 3 Oc ...

, his primary Māori Party portfolios were Education and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. He also held a number of minor portfolios including Tourism, Local Government, Internal Affairs, Sport and Recreation, Land Information and Education Review Office. He was a member and Deputy Chairperson of the Education and Science Select Committee as well as being a current member on the Business Select Committee, Whips Select Committee and Standing Orders Committee. In July 2007 Flavell's Public Works (Offer Back of and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. It passed its first reading and was sent to select committee in early 2009, but was defeated at its second reading in July 2010. In May 2010 Flavell's Local Electoral (Māori Representation) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. It was defeated at its first reading in June. In September 2010 his Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. It was passed in 2013. With the resignation as party co-leader of Pita Sharples in July 2013, Flavell was elected as co-leader of the Māori Party. During the , Flavell was re-elected in the Waiariki electorate. The Māori Party also won two seats in the House of Representatives with Flavell serving alongside Marama Fox as co-leaders. Between October 2014 and October 2017, Flavell served as the Minister for Māori Development. During the , Flavell lost his seat to Labour candidate Tāmati Coffey. Fellow co-leader Fox also lost her seat, causing the Māori Party to lose its representation in Parliament. Following the party's defeat, Flavell announced his resignation from politics. Fox credited Flavell with successfully lobbying the New Zealand government into recognizing the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...

, pardoning Rua Kenana, and ratifying the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...

Attitude towards Treaty settlement

Speaking in Māori only at the first reading of the Ngāti Mutunga Treaty Settlement Bill in 2006, Flavell referred to the crown as thieves. He said that the thieves who had stolen the land had not returned its full value to the iwi and despite it being a legal full and final settlement invited the tribe to return to Parliament in the future to see if the loaf had got bigger. The tribe was returned $14.9 million and 10 areas of significant land to their 2000 members in addition to the various historical payments and the previous return of 24,000 acres.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flavell, Te Ururoa Māori Party MPs 1955 births Living people New Zealand educators New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Ngāti Rangiwewehi people Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Māori Party co-leaders People from Tokoroa 21st-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election