Adrian Rurawhe | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rurawhe in 2022 | |
| 31stSpeaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives | |
| In office 24 August 2022 – 5 December 2023 | |
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Governor‑General | Cindy Kiro |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins Christopher Luxon |
| Deputy | Greg O'Connor |
| Preceded by | Trevor Mallard |
| Succeeded by | Gerry Brownlee |
| Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 26 November 2020 – 24 August 2022 | |
| Speaker | Trevor Mallard |
| Preceded by | Anne Tolley |
| Succeeded by | Greg O'Connor |
| Second Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 8 November 2017 – 26 November 2020 | |
| Speaker | Trevor Mallard |
| Preceded by | Trevor Mallard |
| Succeeded by | Jacqui Dean |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forLabour Party list | |
| Assumed office 14 October 2023 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forTe Tai Hauāuru | |
| In office 20 September 2014 – 14 October 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tariana Turia |
| Succeeded by | Debbie Ngarewa-Packer |
| Majority | 1,053 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1961 (age 63–64) |
| Relations | Matiu Rātana (grandfather) Iriaka Rātana (grandmother) T. W. Ratana (great-grandfather) Matt Ratana (cousin)[1] Soraya Peke-Mason (cousin)[2] |
| Website | www |
Adrian Paki Rurawhe (born 1961)[3] is a New ZealandLabour Party politician. He has been an MP since 2014, and thespeaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2022 to 2023.
Rurawhe held the seat for theTe Tai HauāuruMāori electorate from 2014 to 2023. Due to the demands of being speaker, he did not contest the electorate in the2023 election, but returned to Parliament at number 11 on Labour's party list.
Rurawhe is a grandson ofMatiu andIriaka Rātana, who were both Members of Parliament for theWestern Maori electorate between 1945 and 1969. He is a great-grandson ofRātana founderT. W. Ratana.[4] His grandfather died before he was born, and he was at secondary school before he was aware that his "Nan" was a Member of Parliament.
Rurawhe has a background in health and education.[5] He was the chairman of theNgāti Apa iwi for ten years[5] and was on the team that negotiated the 2011treaty settlement withthe Crown through theWaitangi Tribunal.[6]Koro Wētere, the formerEastern Maori MP, encouraged his early involvement in politics and was a mentor for Rurawhe.[7]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | 51st | Te Tai Hauāuru | none | Labour | |
| 2017–2020 | 52nd | Te Tai Hauāuru | none | Labour | |
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | Te Tai Hauāuru | 24 | Labour | |
| 2023–present | 54th | List | 11 | Labour | |
Rurawhe worked alongsideTariana Turia, to whom he is related, when she was still a member of the Labour Party.[5] He was a member of theMāori Party between 2004 and 2008.[8]
At the2014 election, after Turia had retired from politics, Rurawhe contested theTe Tai Hauāuru electorate for Labour and defeated Chris McKenzie of the Māori Party.[5][9]
In his first term of Parliament, Labour was inOpposition and Rurawhe was appointed as the Labour Party spokesperson for civil defence and emergency management (2014–2015), internal affairs (2015–2017) and Treaty of Waitangi negotiations (2017). He was also junior whip after theelection of Jacinda Ardern as Labour Party leader.
In July 2015, Rurawhe introduced the Official Information (Parliamentary Under-Secretaries) Amendment Bill. Under the provisions of the bill, information held by parliamentary under-secretaries would be classified as official information and consequently subject toOfficial Information Act requests. The bill was passed into law with the support of all parties exceptNew Zealand First and received royal assent in July 2016.[10]
Rurawhe retained Te Tai Hauāuru for Labour in the2017 general election.[11][12] Following the formation of theSixth Labour Government in October 2017, Rurawhe was elected to the office ofassistant speaker.National Party MPSimon Bridges challenged Rurawhe's election to the Chair on grounds that Rurawhe's name was still on the door of thewhip's office. Party whips are not eligible to be a presiding officer.[13] SpeakerTrevor Mallard ruled that a name on a door in Parliament is not binding on the House and that the speaker's office had already been notified in writing that Rurawhe was not a whip, so the election could proceed.[14]
Rurawhe won re-election in the2020 general election, defeating the Māori Party's candidate,Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. When the official results were released, Rurawhe had a majority of 1,035,[15] but after the Māori Party requested a recount in Te Tai Hauāuru, Rurawhe's majority increased slightly to 1,053.[16][17] Following the election, Rurawhe was nominated as deputy speaker in thenew Parliament, and was formally appointed to the role on 26 November.[18]
As part of a cabinet reshuffle on 13 June 2022,Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern designated Rurawhe to replace Trevor Mallard as the nextspeaker of the House. It was announced that Mallard would resign in mid-August 2022 to assume a diplomatic position in Europe.[19][20] On 24 August Rurawhe was elected as speaker of the House with the support of both the governing and opposition parties, becoming the second Māori to hold the position, afterPeter Tapsell.[21][22] As speaker, Rurawhe promised to award opposition parties more opportunities to questionGovernment ministers if the governing Labour Party did not shorten some of its answers to its parliamentary debate questions.[23]
Rurawhe did not contest the Te Tai Hauāuru electorate in the2023 general election, but stood as a list-only candidate, as all previous incumbent speakers under MMP have done. He said that he felt the demands of being speaker meant that he could not serve the electorate fully.[2][24] He was placed 11 on the Labour party list.[25] During the 2023 general election, Rurawhe was re-elected on the party list.[26]
Following the formation of theNational-led coalition government in late November 2023, Rurawhe became spokesperson forWhānau Ora and AssociateMāori Development in theShadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.[27]
Following a shadowcabinet reshuffle in early March 2025, Rurawhe retained his Whānau Ora portfolio but lost his Māori Development portfolio.[28]
Rurawhe voted against theEnd of Life Choice Act 2019[29] and against theAbortion Legislation Act 2020.[30]
Standing Order 30: No member who is the leader of a party or who holds office as a whip may be appointed Deputy Speaker or Assistant Speaker.
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Te Tai Hauāuru 2014–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Representatives 2022–2023 | Succeeded by |
