Another new MP has delivered a maiden statement in Parliament - this time it was National’s Tama Potaka who recently won the Hamilton West by-election following the departure from Parliament of former Labour MP Gaurav Sharma.
Maiden Statements are usually the public’s first and sometimes best chance to learn about an MP, their motivations and politics. Tama Potaka’s speech flowed between English and Te Reo, taking stock of his background, life journey thus far and whakapapa.
Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka delivers his maiden statement in Parliament with life-size portraits of his ancestors in the foreground, 7 March 2023. Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
"My formative years reflect our party's values. I was raised in rural New Zealand. Rata, Makaranui, Ākitio, Ōpunakē on "Surf Highway 45", whaea Debbie, and Pukehou, are not urban yet, but they enable cities like Hamilton and Auckland to function, whether through the supply of water, gravel, food, energy, or people. My bones lie in those places and on the far flung battlefields of the Pioneer and Māori Battalions.
"Don't forget your roots," Potaka said, with two large portraits of his ancestors, or tūpuna, placed in front of him in the chamber.
"My parents initially sculpted my life. Patty and Joe dedicated themselves to getting things done in Rata—like land consolidation to ensure not one more acre of family land was lost from whānau ownership. They sought to reincarnate collective Mōkai Pātea enterprise of the late 19th century, only to be crushed through relentless land alienation and prejudice."
A former student of Te Aute College, Potaka went on to study law at Columbia Law School in the US before working for prestigious New York law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
He said his collated experiences left a lasting impression upon him that "any young New Zealander raised with village values and community support can go from hay bales, mowing the marae lawns in Whakatupuranga Rua Mano all the way to an august Ivy League institution and practising attorney for some of the biggest clients in the world".
"During my travels, and more recently, the excitement and exuberance of the Black Ferns and my brethren Cliff Curtis mega movie appearances, it is right that Māori people and Māori culture have global reach and meaning, and are fundamental, but should not be fundamentalist, whānau, to New Zealand's renewal."
The National MP pinpointed education and law as the two areas that resonate for him as the key foundations for the country's future.
Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka pays tribute to whānau in the public gallery as he delivers his maiden statement in Parliament, 7 March 2023 Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
The galleries were packed with Potaka's supporters and whanau, underlining the wide range of experience which has led him to being a Parliamentarian.
Tama Potaka's maiden statement in Parliament can be read here.
