Raymond Tau Henare (born 29 September 1960) is a former New Zealand Māori parliamentarian. In representing three different political parties in parliament—New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the National Party—Henare served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2014.

Early life

Henare was born in Ōtara, New Zealand, the son of a 37-year railwayman, on 29 September 1960. Known by his middle name "Tau," Henare's tribal roots are Ngāpuhi and what he characterises as "all the North". Henare himself was the brother-in-law to New Zealand Māori politician Tuku Morgan through Henare's marriage to the sister of Morgan's wife.

Early career

After his schooling ended in 1978, Henare worked at a variety of positions, including wool cleaner and wool classer, where he was responsible for separating sheep's wool, organiser for the Northern Clerical Workers' Union under activist and trade unionist Syd Jackson, community worker, adviser to the Waitakere City Council, and Department of Internal Affairs adviser.

In connection with Winston Peters (himself Māori) establishing the New Zealand First party in July 1993, Henare changed the focus of his activities to politics for the 6 November 1993 election.

Member of Parliament

Henare first won election to Parliament in the 1993 election as the New Zealand First candidate for the Northern Maori electorate, a surprising result given Labour's traditional dominance in the Māori electorates. In defeating incumbent Labour Party member Bruce Gregory, Henare became New Zealand First's second MP, joining Peters in the House. As such, Henare became New Zealand First's deputy leader. His election helped counter the perception that New Zealand First was merely an extension of Peters.

In December 1994, Northern Maori member of parliament Henare supported Māori tribe's paramount chief Sir Hepi Te Heuheu in Heuheu's refusal to attend a meeting with then Prime Minister Jim Bolger for a roundtable discussion on government proposals to settle Māori claims, reasoning that the government's handling of Maori claims indicated a lack of understanding of the gravity of the issues involved and the meeting would be a public relations exercise. Two months later in February 1995, Henare supported a push to have the United Nations oversee a fiscal envelope negotiation process. by which a monetary cap of $1 billion would be placed in a "fiscal envelope" for use in settling all Treaty of Waitangi grievances. Henare felt that United Nations scrutiny would ensure justice in the face of past treaty breaches and that the Government's forceful approach did not create future resentment.

In , Henare contested Te Atatū; again, he finished second and was returned as a list MP. The National Party formed a government but Henare was not appointed as a Minister; instead, he was named chairperson of the Māori affairs select committee. In 2009, Henare was additionally appointed deputy chairperson of the select committee considering legislative changes following the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. In August 2009, it emerged that Henare had sent an email to his colleagues lobbying for the right to vote against part of the Auckland governance legislation, in particular the part that denied separate Māori seats on the new Auckland Council which had been promoted by the ACT Party. In response to reaction to the email, Henare made a number of challenging remarks about Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples. Ultimately, no separate Māori seats were established. In February 2010, Henare's Employment Relations (Workers' Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill was enacted in May 2012. In addition to his public office, Henare held positions as a talkback host on Newstalk ZB, an early childhood education consultant, a trustee on the Kura Kaupapa board and the Rutherford College board, and chairman of Tu Tangata education provider.

In late 2012 Henare was looking to succeed Lockwood Smith as Speaker, but dropped his bid when he lost the backing of the Māori Party. The Māori Party said they were not responsible for the failure of his bid, they were simply canvassing whether it was likely he would be appointed Speaker, and that ultimately they believed that Henare did not have the support.

In April 2014, Henare announced his intention to retire from politics at the 2014 general election, influenced by an expected low list placing.

Parliamentary roles

  • Minister of Racing 16 December 1996 – 30 August 1998
  • Associate Minister for Sport, Fitness and Leisure 16 December 1996 – 2 August 1998
  • Minister of Māori Affairs 16 December 1996 – 10 December 1999
  • Associate Minister of Corrections 31 August 1998 – 10 December 1999
  • Associate Minister of Education 31 August 1998 – 10 December 1999
  • Associate Minister of Tertiary Education 21 June 1999 – 10 December 1999
  • Associate Spokesperson, Treaty of Waitangi Issues and Māori Affairs (Treaty Negotiations) 26 October 2005 – 1 December 2006
  • Associate Spokesperson, Education (Early Childhood) 26 October 2005 – 1 December 2006

After parliament

Henare appeared in Henderson District Court in December 2014 charged with knowingly breaching suppression orders under the Criminal Procedure Act. The charge related to an alleged posting on social media in 2014 of the name of the defendant in the Queenstown suppressed indecency case, when the defendant's identity was subject to a suppression order.

In 2015, Henare was appointed to the board of Housing New Zealand. In 2016, he was appointed to Auckland Council's Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB); in 2019, he was named deputy chair of that board.

References

  • Henare at national.org.nz
  • Henare at parliament.nz
  • Tau Henare on Twitter

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