Tariana Turia is a
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
politician. She gained considerable prominence during the
foreshore and seabed controversyThe New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty...
, and eventually broke with her party as a result. She resigned from parliament, and successfully contested a by-election in her former electorate as a candidate of the newly formed
Māori PartyThe Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
.
Early work
Turia was born in 1944 to an American (probably
Native AmericanThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
) father and Māori mother. Her Māori roots are Wanganui, Ngati Apa, Nga Rauru, and Tuwharetoa
iwiIn New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
.
She is married to George Turia. They have 4 children, 2 whangai, and 28 grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Before entering politics, she had considerable involvement with a number of Māori organisations, working with
Te Puni KōkiriTe Puni Kōkiri is a New Zealand Public Sector Department responsible for Māori public policy and policy affecting Māori.The department, called TPK for short, reports to the Minister of Māori Affairs...
(the Ministry of Māori Development) and a number of Māori health providers. She also had associations with the Te Kura Kaupapa and
kohanga reoThe Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the speaking of the Māori language. Primarily in New Zealand, but also in centres with large numbers of New Zealand migrants , the movement aims to increase the use of Māori in the home, in education, government and...
movements.
Member of Parliament
Turia entered the New Zealand Parliament in the
1996 electionThe 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 a
list MP for the
Labour PartyThe New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, ranking 20th on the party list. In the
1999 electionThe 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...
, she remained a list MP, but ranked sixteenth. In the
2002 electionThe 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, however, she contested the Te Tai Hauauru Māori electorate, and opted not to place herself on the party list at all. Te Tai Hauauru (roughly, the Māori voters of the west of the
North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
) returned her as their member of parliament.
Although never a member of
CabinetThe Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...
, Turia has held a number of non-Cabinet ministerial roles. From Labour's electoral victory in 1999, she served as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs, Associate Minister of Social Services and Employment, Associate Minister of Health, and Associate Minister of Housing. In 2002, she also became Associate Minister of Corrections. After the formation of the Labour-
ProgressiveJim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....
coalition in 2002, she dropped the Corrections role and gained full ministerial rank as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
Foreshore and seabed legislation
When debate about
ownership of New Zealand's foreshore and seabedThe New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty...
broke out in 2003, and the Labour Party proposed vesting ownership in the state, Turia voiced dissatisfaction. Along with many of her supporters in Te Tai Hauauru, she claimed that Labour's proposal amounted to an outright confiscation of Māori land. When it became publicly known that Turia might vote against Labour's bill in parliament, tensions between Turia and the Labour Party's leadership increased. The hierarchy strongly implied that if Turia did not support Labour policy, she could not retain her ministerial roles.
By-election
On April 30, 2004, after a considerable period of confusion about Turia's intentions, she announced that she would resign from parliament on 17 May. This precipitated a
by-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
being called in Te Tai Hauauru, which Turia contested as a member of the new
Māori PartyThe Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
that formed around her. On the same day that Turia announced her resignation,
Prime MinisterThe 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...
Helen ClarkHelen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
sacked her from her ministerial posts.
Her supporters see Turia as having bravely defied her party in order to stand up for her principles. Her critics, however, portray her as dangerous and racist, notably for her support for race based policies which favour Maori over other New Zealanders. The Labour Party has criticised Turia for putting the foreshore and seabed issue before the party's wider policies for Māori development, and says that she has unreasonably focused on a single issue. Helen Clark said that Turia had shown "an astonishing lack of perspective". Turia described the
Te Tai Hauauru by-electionThe Te Tai Hauauru by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Hauāuru, one of the Māori seats. The date set for the by-election was 10 July 2004...
of 10 July 2004 as a chance to test her mandate, and to ensure that she had the support of her voters, but doubts remained about the significance of the by-election, since none of the major parties put forward candidates. Labour called the event "a waste of time and money".
Turia received 92.74% of the vote in the by-election, and resumed her seat in Parliament on 27 July 2004.
2005 general election
On 17 September 2005, the Māori Party contested the
general electionThe 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
with electoral candidates in all seven of the Māori seats. Turia was re-elected in Te Tai Hauauru and that night three more Māori Party candidates won parliamentary seats,
Pita SharplesPita Russell Sharples, CBE, , a Māori academic and politician, currently co-leads the Māori Party. He currently is the member for Tamaki Makaurau in New Zealand's Parliament.-Early life:...
(co-leader) in Tamaki Makaurau,
Hone HarawiraHone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and parliamentarian. He was elected to the Parliament of New Zealand for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in the 2005 general election as the Māori Party candidate. His resignation caused the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, held...
in Te Tai Tokerau and
Te Ururoa FlavellTe Ururoa James William Ben Flavell is a New Zealand politician and serves as a member of the New Zealand Parliament.-Ancestry:...
in Waiariki. The winning of the four seats resulted in celebration for their supporters who anticipated seeing an independent, Māori voice in parliament. However, the Māori Party share of the party vote across the country was 2.1 percent, placing them sixth out of the eight parties in parliament by party vote. This was attributed to voters in the Māori electorates mainly giving their party vote to the incumbent Labour government.
2008 general election and Ministerial posts
Support for the Māori Party in the
2008 general electionThe 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
increased with the party gaining an additional seat.
NationalThe 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:...
won most seats overall, to form a
minority governmentA minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
with support from the Māori Party as well as
Act New Zealand and United Future. In return for Māori Party support in confidence and supply, John Key agreed to not abolish the Māori seats without the consent of Māori. It was also agreed to review the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 and to consider Māori representation in a wider constitutional review which began in 2010. Turia and co-leader Sharples were both made Ministers, although like other support party members both remained outside Cabinet. Turia was given the portfolios of Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment, while Sharples was made
Minister of Māori AffairsThe Minister of Māori Affairs is the minister of the New Zealand government with broad responsibility for government policy towards Māori, the first inhabitants of New Zealand. The current Minister of Māori Affairs is Dr. Pita Sharples.-Role:...
.
When
Paula BennettPaula Lee Bennett is a New Zealand politician and member of parliament for the National Party. She is a Cabinet minister with the roles of Minister for Social Development and Employment, Minister for Disability Issues and Minister of Youth Affairs.-Early life:Bennett was born in 1969 to Bob...
stepped down as Minister for Disability Issues on 30 June 2009, Key appointed Turia the new minister.
In 2010, the National and Māori Parties announced Whanau Ora, a taskforce designed to streamline social service resources. Turia was announced Minister responsible for the implementing of the scheme.
Political offices
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