Rana Waitai
Encyclopedia
Rana Donald Waitai is a former politician. He was an MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 from 1996 to 1999.

Early years

His father was Te Rangi Koroingo Te Oreore Waitai (August 1912-1989) born and died in Lower Hutt. His mother was Mavis Lillian Waitai (née Winduss) (May 1912-1997) born in Nelson and died in Lower Hutt.

Rana Waitai was the partner of Te Aroha Ann Ruru Stanton from 1966 to 1995 and they
have five daughters.

Rana Waitai was a Freezing Worker at Wanganui in 1961, a Bushman in 1961 at Karioi and also a factory worker. He later became a trainee probation officer at Wellington and in 1965 joined the New Zealand Police
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...

. In 1979 Waitai was the Duty Inspector at Police National Headquarters when Air New Zealand Flight 901
Air New Zealand Flight 901
Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a scheduled Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight that operated between 1977 and 1979, from Auckland Airport to Antarctica and return via Christchurch...

 crashed on Erebus. He rang Chief Superindentent Brian Davies who was at home in the evening: We seem to have a small problem ... We have lost a DC-10 sir.

In August 1996 he was elected to the New Zealand Parliament to represent the Te Puku O Te Whenua Maori electorate. He retired from the Police at the rank of Superintendent after 31 years.

National Party

Waitai was involved in the New Zealand National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 between 1973 to 1992, quitting after a dispute with then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

, Jim Bolger
Jim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...

. He rejoined the National Party in 2000.

Member of Parliament

Waitai was first elected to Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 in the 1996 elections
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

 as New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...

 MP for the Maori seat
Maori seats
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially also called Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that gives reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament...

 of Te Puku O Te Whenua
Te Puku O Te Whenua
Te Puku O Te Whenua or "the belly of the land" was one of the five new New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates created in 1996 for MMP. It was replaced in the 1999 election.-Population Centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:...

 as one of the Tight Five
Tight Five
-Parliamentary terms:-History:The Tight Five was a nickname given to the five Māori elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1996 from the centrist/nationalist New Zealand First party....

, having previously stood for the Gisborne
Gisborne (New Zealand electorate)
-Population Centres:The electorate is based on the city of Gisborne.-History:The electorate existed from 1908 to 1996, when it was replaced by the Mahia electorate, which was renamed East Coast from 2002.-Election results:Key -External links:...

 seat. In 1998, when New Zealand First splintered, Waitai was one of the eight MPs who left the party. He eventually joined with four other MPs to form the Mauri Pacific
Mauri Pacific
Mauri Pacific was a short-lived political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1998 by five former members of the New Zealand First party. It has often been described as a Māori party. Officially, Mauri Pacific was a multiculturalist party, welcoming anyone who supported racial and cultural...

 party. In the 1999 elections
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...

, he was ranked fourth on Mauri Pacific's list, but the party failed to win any seats.

Law career

Rana Waitai is now a practising Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and Solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

in Wanganui. He holds the following academic degrees - Bachelor of Arts (BA) (major in sociology) 1978, Bachelor of Law (LLB) 2003, Master of Public Policy (MPP) 1981, Master of Law (LLM) Research paper Terrorism Laws of New Zealand (2004). As of 2005 he lives at Kaungaroa in the Wangaehu River valley, some 25 km south of Wanganui where he operates his legal practice.

Local politics

In 2005, Waitai attempted to re-enter politics as a by-election candidate for the Wanganui District Council. Although soundly defeated, he was successful in being elected to the council and the Whanganui district health board in the local body elections of October 2007. He is currently deputy chairman of the council's Harbour and Maori committees.
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