Source: Radio New Zealand
Kingi Kiriona at the opening of the Te Ahu a Turanga Highway in June 2025. RNZ/Pokere Paewai
Te reo and haka exponent Kingi Kiriona says government “divestment away from kaupapa Māori” initiatives is behind his decision to step into politics and contest the Hauraki-Waikato electorate for Labour.
Kiriona (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu) is the founder of Māori education provider, TupuOra, a former journalist and the tutor of Waikato-based kapa haka, Te Iti Kahurangi.
Te Iti Kahurangi are performing at the Tainui Waka Kapa Haka Festival on Saturday, where Kiriona will make the formal announcement to the crowd in what he says will be his first chance to stand face-to-face with the region after becoming a candidate.
He told RNZ if elected his first priority would be re-establishing a focus on Te Tiriti, particularly in education where the government has removed school boards’ legal obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti and cut funding for te reo Māori teacher training.
“It’s policies like that that really hit hard at the spirit of Māori. And as someone that’s always fought for mātauranga Māori and for the place of mātauranga Māori, particularly within education, alongside my partner, Te Waipounamu, our whānau, our colleagues, actually, in TupuOra, it would be remiss of me not to stand up in the way that I’m standing up right now to say enough is enough. It’s time for change.”
He’s seen the effect shifting government investment away from Māori initiatives has on Māori families first hand.
“My wife and I, we run a Māori education business, TupuOra Education and Development Limited. At our peak three to four years ago under the previous regime, we had a complement of 30 staff, as of January this year, we’re now down to five staff.
“So we’ve seen the direct impact of the divestment away from kaupapa Māori, in this instance, kaupapa Māori education. We’ve seen the direct impact on us, but also on the whānau that we employ.”
As for why he went with Labour, Kiriona said it comes down to one word – “friends.”
“People that know me know that I’m fiercely Māori. Everything that I’ve done has been done and achieved and predicated on Māori values and on what’s best for te ao Māori and certainly in the interests of mana motuhake. But we all know in this game that we call politics, you need friends, you need friends to advance, to make policy gains, funding shifts and so I see an opportunity here with the Labour Party.”
Kiriona said he made it clear his candidacy would always be contingent on receiving the blessing of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, which he did earlier this year.
“Her words were, ‘Mō te oranga o te iwi me pēwhea e kore ai au e whakaae.’ So for the betterment of the people, how can I not support or agree? So to receive that blessing is huge.”
Kiriona was born and raised in Dannevirke, but has been living in Waikato for close to 30 where he said he has been blessed to be taken under the wing of key people in the rohe, so it means a lot to stand in the region especially with the blessing of Te Arikinui.
Although Te Arikinui was clear she didn’t want to see an adversarial election campaign against incumbent MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, he said.
Kiriona has an existing relationship with Maipi-Clarke having worked with her father during his time as a journalist, that whakapapa drew him to contact Maipi-Clarke ahead of the public announcement of his candidacy.
“Sure we come from different parties, we may represent different policies on behalf of our different parties. But we are Māori, we’re grounded in tikanga, we’re grounded in kaupapa Māori, we are a part of the Kiingitanga, and the Kiingitanga is predicated on te kotahitanga,” he said.
Kiriona is currently the Deputy Chair of Te Māngai Pāho, following three terms as Board Director of Whakaata Māori. He’s also a sitting member of the Waitangi Tribunal and before its disestablishment was the deputy chief-executive of Te Aka Whai Ora.
In the other Māori electorates Labour has selected the former chair of Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata Mananui Ramsden in Te Tai Tonga, former Auckland Councillor Kerrin Leoni in Tāmaki Makaurau and current List MP Willow-Jean Prime in Te Tai Tokerau.
Incumbent MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel will also be trying to hold on to Ikaroa-Rāwhiti for Labour.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
