Teanau Tuiono | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tuiono in 2023 | |
| Third Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 7 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forGreenparty list | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2020 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1972-12-25)25 December 1972 (age 52) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | Green |
| Profession | Education Publisher |
Teanau Tuiono (born 25 December 1972) is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 he became aMember of Parliament in theHouse of Representatives as a representative of theGreen Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.[1]
Tuiono was born on 25 December 1972.[2] He is bothCook Islands Māori (Atiu) and New Zealand Māori (Ngāpuhi andNgāi Takoto); he istangata whenua, and also belongs to the Pasifika/Moananui diaspora.[3][4] Tuiono grew up inTe Atatū andŌtāhuhu, with a two-year period inRarotonga. He initially enrolled for an engineering certificate but partway through changed to a BA in Māori Studies at theUniversity of Auckland. He credits an environmental paper he took there, taught byJeanette Fitzsimons, as turning him into environmental activism.[2] He followed his BA with a law degree, also from the University of Auckland.[5]
By profession, Tuiono is an education consultant who has previously worked at both theUnited Nations and was the activist in residence atMassey University.[6]
Tuiono attended the protests at theanti-Springbok tour protests in 1981.[2] Prior to entering parliament, he organised protests for subjects such as GCSB laws,[7] the TPPA,[8] and support forAustralian Aboriginal rights.[9] He was also involved in translatingFacebook intoMāori.[10] In 2021, during a debate on new anti-terrorism laws he recalled how his home had been raided by police during the2007 New Zealand police raids.[11]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | List | 8 | Green | |
| 2023–present | 54th | List | 5 | Green | |
Tuiono stood for the Green Party at the2017 election and was 16th on the party list. This was not high enough for Tuiono to be elected to parliament, as the party won only 8 seats.[6]
At the 2019 local-body elections, Tuiono stood forMayor of Palmerston North as the Green Party candidate, running a campaign focusing on the localeffects of climate change.[4] He finished a distant second to incumbentGrant Smith.[6]
During the2020 general election, Tuiono stood as the 8th ranked list candidate for the Green Party and as the party's candidate forPalmerston North. He came third place in Palmerston North, with 2,039 votes.[12] With the Greens winning 10 seats, he became a list Member of Parliament.[13][14] Tuiono is the Green Party's first Pasifika MP.[13]
During his campaign, Tuiono pledged to tackle wealth inequality in New Zealand.[15]
During the2023 New Zealand general election, Tuiono was re-elected to Parliament on the Greens' party list.[16]
In late November 2023, Tuiono assumed the Green Party's Pacific Region, education, workplace relations and safety, space, national security and intelligence, and overseas development assistance spokesperson portfolios.[17]
On 7 December 2023, Tuiono was appointed as the third assistant speaker, the first Green Party MP to become a member on the speaker team[18] and the second MP, afterPeter Hilt in 1996, from a party other than National or Labour to become an assistant speaker.[19]
On 10 April 2024, Tuiono's member's bill "Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Bill" passed its first reading with the support of the opposition Green,Labour,Te Pāti Māori and the government coalition partiesACT andNew Zealand First. The bill proposes restoring citizenship eligibility to a group of older Samoans born between 1924 and 1949 whenSamoa was still a New Zealand mandate territory.[20] The bill passed its second reading on 25 October, with the National party changing their position to support it after over 24,000 submissions were made during the select committee process.[21] On 20 November, the bill passed its third reading with unanimous support.[22]
In December 2020, Tuiono joined fellow Green MPGolriz Ghahraman andLabour MPIbrahim Omer in pledging to form a new parliamentary Palestine friendship group to "raise the voices of Palestinian peoples in the New Zealand Parliament" during an event organised by the Wellington Palestine advocacy group to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.[23]
Tuiono serves as his party's agriculture spokesperson. He supportsregenerative agriculture and a move away from intensive dairy farming.
He considers it appropriate for MPs to be able to pledge allegiance toTe Tiriti O Waitangi instead of to theKing.[24]
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