Tāmaki Makaurau

Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Tāmaki Makaurau is Dr Pita Sharples of the Māori Party. [ [http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/MPs/1/a/e/48MP125791-Sharples-Pita.htm New Zealand Parliament - Pita Sharples MP] ] He has held this position since 2005.

Tāmaki Makaurau derives its name from the Māori name for Auckland; it is often translated as "Tāmaki of a thousand lovers" ("Makau", often translated as lovers, also translates as "favourite" and "spouse", implying a highly sought target of admiration), a reference to the fertile volcanic soil of Auckland and the positioning between two resource rich coasts. [ [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/managementplans/victoriapark/history.asp Historical Context] (from the Auckland City Council website, Victoria Park Management Plan)] In its current boundaries, the electorate countains the Western Beaches of Waitakere City, all of West Auckland south of Te Atatu, the entire Auckland Isthmus, and the South Auckland suburbs of Mangere, Otara, Pakuranga and Manurewa. It does not contain Great Barrier or Rangitoto islands, as there is in Te Tai Tokerau; Both Papakura and Waiheke Island are in Hauraki-Waikato.

The first Māori seat based exlusively around Auckland was created at the time of the first review of MMP boundaries, ahead of the 1999 election. The final seat was named Hauraki, after both the gulf at Auckland's eastern side, and Hauraki, a pan-tribal union based around an area including the Coromandel Peninsula, Thames Valley and the Western Bay of Plenty [ [http://www.hauraki.iwi.nz/index.htm Hauraki Māori Trust Board] ] . Hauraki's boundary stretched out of Auckland, down through the eastern Waikato into include Morrinsville and the Coromandel; population growth saw the southern section lanced three years later, and the current boundaries and name take hold. The name 'Hauraki' in an historical context refers to an electorate in use at various times between 1928 and 1996; in a modern sense, the Hauraki 'block' that lead to the name of the first seat has been revived and applied to the seat of Hauraki-Waikato, the successor to the seat of Tainui.

The main iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau are Ngāti Whātua, Kawerau a Maki, Tainui, Ngāti Paoa and Ngāti Rehua, [ [http://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/region/tamaki-makaurau/ Te Puni Kōkiri - In Your Region - Tāmaki Makaurau] ] though a pan-Māori organisation called Ngāti Akarana exists for urbanised Māori with no knowledge of their actual iwi; and, through a population trend whereby many rural Māori moved to the cities, the largest iwi affilitation in the seat are Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto, all iwi local to other areas of New Zealand. [ [http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PubRes/Research/Electorates/EPData/c/6/3/DBHOH_Lib_EP_TamakiMakaurau_Data_4-T-maki-Makaurau-People.htm Electorate Profiles:Tāmaki Makaurau] ]

At its first (and only) contest, Hauraki was won by a high-profile community worker, John Tamihere of the Labour Party. Tamihere spend his six year parliamentary career dogged by controversy that often overshadowed his work as a minister and, at the 2005 election came ten percent behind Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples. Because Tamihere had chosen not to seek a list placing, his parliamentary career was terminated.

Members of Parliament for Hauraki

Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at a general election.

Election results

Note: lines coloured beige denote the winner of the electorate vote. Lines coloured pink denote a candidate elected to Parliament from their party's list.

=2005 election=

sourced from [http://2005.electionresults.govt.nz/electorate-65.html electionresults.govt.nz]

References

External links

* [http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/3F5DA3FE-B535-4E29-B13F-0E76F31014F5/196/Tamaki_Makaurau1.pdf Electorate Profile] "Parliamentary Library"