Kua pānuitia e te Rt Hon Adrian Rurawhe tana whakatā i te ao tōrangapū, ka tū tōna whakatā hei te rā o Waitangi, te 6 o Pēpuere 2026, i te tīmatanga tonu o ngā whakanuinga a te Hāhi Ratana.
Ka mutu tana tū hei Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Hauāuru i ngā 12 tau, ā, ka hoki ia ki te arotahi ki te whānau me tōna hāhi.
“Kāre e kō, kei reira hoki te pōuri, te kite i a ia e whakawātea i tōna tūranga, heoi anō, kei reira anō, he whakanui, he whakamānawa,” e ai ki te kaikorero o te Hāhi Ratana, a Kamaka Manuel.
“Mai rā anō, mai i tō tātau nei Pāpā tēnei hononga ki Te Pāti Reipa, nō reira nā wai, nā wai ka kite nei hoki i ngā Morehu, ngā pononga e whai kaha tonu ana hoki tērā hononga,” hei tā Kamaka anō.
Ahakoa te harikoa mō tōna haerenga, ka noho te pōuri ki te ngākau o te iwi. I kōrero anō a Kamaka mō ngā kare-ā-roto, e mea ana, he wā rawe mō te Hāhi ki te mihi ki a Rurawhe me tana mahi nui ki te whakakanohi i te iwi morehu ki roto i te ana o ngā raiona.
Engari, kua tīmata kē te haere a te kaitono hou mō Te Tai Hauāuru. Ko Tawhiao McMaster tētehi i tae mai ki Ratana, hei uri nō Whanganui, me tana tū hei kaikawe i te wero ki te whakahoki mai i te tūru mō Reipa i te Pōti Whānui o te tau 2026.
“Āe ko au tērā, ko tā Te Pati Reipa me tatari mō taua wā, mēnā kāre tētehi atu e hiahia ana kia tūtuki taua rā, me koke tonu kia tīmata pai i ngā mahi,” e ai ki a Tawhiao McMaster.
“Kei te whawhai i ngā āhuatanga kino o tēnei kāwanatanga ki te hanga i tētehi Kāwanatanga hou, āna, kei te rite,” te kī anō a McMaster.
Ahakoa kua whakaū a McMaster e tū ana tōna ringa mō te turu kua waihotia mai ai e Rurawhe hei te tuatahi o Pepuere ka mana te whakatau a Te Rōpū Reipa ko wai hei piki turanga ma Rurawhe ki Te Tai Hauauru.
Rurawhe retires on Waitangi Day, passing the torch to a new generation
Adrian Rurawhe’s decision to retire after nearly 12 years in Parliament, including a tenure as Speaker of the House, comes as he turns 65 this year, driven by a desire to dedicate more time to his whānau and church. Reflecting on his departure, the former Te Tai Hauāuru MP stated,
“I am happy that I’ve let everyone know of my resignation now it’s time to leave Parliament,” says Adrian Rurawhe.
“There’s a lot of challenges out there and personally I think we should take greater interest in the issues facing especially our rangatahi, they’re not easy issues,” Rurawhe says.
His retirement immediately brings Georgie Dansey into Parliament as the next person on the Labour Party list.
“I’m rather saddened as well seeing his post yesterday, I wonder who will fill the void he leaves, especially in the Speaker role,” says current Te Tai Hauāuru MP, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“I think it’s really exciting that our young ones are coming through I think that this is a tough position and I think you need to be able to see that, we saw that with the Māori Wards, I think we need to continue to show our whānau that they should put their hands up,” says Debbie.