Rawiri Wikuki Waititi (born ) is a New Zealand politician and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for since 2020, when his election returned Te Pāti Māori to the New Zealand Parliament following their defeat at the 2017 general election.
Waititi is also an iwi leader, Ringatū minister, and kapa haka exponent.
Personal life
Waititi was born in Ōpōtiki, the eldest of four children. He spent his first 12 years living in Whangaparāoa, in the eastern Bay of Plenty near Cape Runaway, and was schooled under the guidance of his kaumātua (elders) and his hapū, 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.
Waititi is of the Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāi Tai, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui iwi. He is a father of five and husband to Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, the daughter of John Tamihere. He is the grandnephew of Hoani Waititi.
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 co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.
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." 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. 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.
First term
Before being sworn in to the 53rd parliament, Waititi performed a waerea to protest being required to pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II without reference to the Treaty of Waitangi. On 26 November, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer walked out of Parliament after the Speaker of the House 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.