Rawiri Waititi

In the 2014 election, Waititi ran for the Labour Party in Waiariki.[3] As he was not placed on the Labour Party list, his only way to Parliament was to win Waiariki, however, he lost the seat of Waiariki to Māori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.[4]

In 2016, following Kīngi Tūheitia Paki's speech backing the Māori Party,[5] Waititi announced he would be supporting the Māori Party.[6]

On 23 February 2020, Waititi was announced as the Māori Party candidate for Waiariki for the 2020 election. Following his nomination, Waititi said that there was "an imminent need, now more than ever that Māori have a voice who solely prioritises their aspirations and their needs and that is unapologetic about doing so. The Māori Party is the only party who can do that."[7] At the 2020 election, Waititi successfully unseated the Labour MP Tāmati Coffey, winning by 836 votes, and became the MP for Waiariki.[8]

The final election results showed that the Māori Party had won 1.2% of the party vote, entitling them to two seats, so Waititi's electorate win meant not only his entry to Parliament, but also that of female co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.[9][10] Of the forty-two new MPs elected to the 53rd Parliament,[11] two are from the Māori Party.[2][12][13]

Under the Māori Party's constitution, its co-leaders must be drawn from its MPs first, with one male and one female co-leader.[14] At a special general meeting of the party on 28 October 2020, Waititi was confirmed as the male co-leader, replacing his father-in-law, John Tamihere.[15]

Before being sworn in to the 53rd parliament, Waititi performed a waerea to protest being required to pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II without reference to the Treaty of Waitangi.[16] On 26 November, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer walked out of Parliament after the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard declined his motion that the Māori Party be allowed to speak for 15 minutes during the opening on Parliament on the grounds that MPs from smaller parties were not scheduled to deliver their maiden speeches until the following week. Waititi described Mallard's decision and the parliamentary system as unfair.[17]

In late December 2020 and early January, Waititi participated in negotiations with 16 prisoners who were involved in unrest at Waikeria Prison stemming from allegations of inhumane and unhygienic conditions at the prison. Several of the prisoners had requested the presence of a Māori leader such as Waititi as a prerequisite to ending the unrest. He stated "that these men belong to whanau... that they deserve the right to be treated humanely, with fresh water, food and clean clothing and they deserve to have someone advocating for them."[18] Following five days of unrest, the prisoners surrendered to the authorities following negotiations involving Waititi.[19][20]

On 9 February, Waititi was ejected from Parliamentary proceedings by Speaker Mallard for refusing to wear a neck tie in line with Parliament's business attire dress core. Waititi instead wore a hei tiki neck tie, which he described as Māori business attire. Waititi had earlier criticised wearing neckties, describing it as a "colonial noose" during his maiden speech last year. When Waititi attempted to ask Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis a supplementary question, Mallard denied him permission to speak since he was not wearing a tie. When Waititi sought a point of order, Mallard ordered him to leave. Waititi was supported by fellow Māori Party MP Ngawera-Packer, who wore a tie in mockery of the rules.[21][22]