Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke: Youngest New Zealand MP Vouches for Maori Rights in Viral Speech

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the 21-year-old New Zealand lawmaker who became the youngest MP in 170 years last October, has once again grabbed the headlines. Maipi-Clarke, a lawmaker of Maori descent, advocated for the rights of New Zealand’s native communities in an impassioned speech on Tuesday, which later went viral on the Internet.

Addressing the Maori youth, Maipi-Clarke encouraged them to embrace their native language and cultural identity. In her maiden speech, Maipi-Clarke said, “Never fit in. You are perfect. You are the perfect fit.” She also promised her electorate that she “will die” for them but “will also live” for them.

“I truly feel like I’ve already said my maiden speech outside the steps of Parliament last year, for the 50th anniversary of Te Petihana. I dedicated [that] speech … to my grandparents … However, this speech today … is dedicated to all our children,” she was quoted as saying by The New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Maipi-Clarke sees herself as a guardian of the Maori language and stresses the importance of amplifying the voices of the new generation of Maori. Maipi-Clarke, who is active on social media, has a large following on Instagram and TikTok. Her commitment to Maori causes and the representation of the younger Maori generation remains central to her advocacy.

Plans by New Zealand’s conservative government to roll back Maori rights reforms have revived race as a hot political issue in the Pacific nation. Thousands of protesters took to the streets last month against proposed legislation and plans that critics describe as the most significant step backward for Maori rights in decades, but which the new government says address voters’ concerns about the direction of the policy in recent years.

The right-of-center government, which won power at an October election, is promising to undo policies of the previous progressive Labour government, in particular those that promote the official use of Maori language and seek to enhance Indigenous living standards and rights. The emergence of the conservative power bloc also comes as the number of Maori members of parliament hits a record high, some of whom are key advocates of the new agenda.

(With agency inputs)