Oriini Kaipara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oriini Kaipara | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kaipara in 2022 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Tāmaki Makaurau | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Takutai Tarsh Kemp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1983 (age 42–43) Whakatāne, New Zealand |
| Party | Te Pāti Māori |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation |
|
Oriini Ngawai Kaipara (born 1983) is a New Zealand politician, broadcaster, journalist and translator and interpreter of Māori and English. She has served as a Member of Parliament since winning the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori in September 2025.
Kaipara previously worked for Mai FM, TVNZ 1, Māori Television, and Three. In 2019, she became the first person with a moko kauae facial tattoo to present mainstream television news, and two years later was the first such person to host a prime-time news programme on national television.
Kaipara was born in Whakatāne in 1983. Her iwi are Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Rangitihi. She attended a kura kaupapa Māori, and trained at South Seas Film and Television School in 2002.[1]
Media career
Kaipara was a newsreader at Mai FM, and then in 2004 joined TVNZ's fully te reo Māori Waka Huia as a reporter and director.
In 2017, the Māori Television programme Native Affairs, which she presented, revealed she has essentially 100 percent Māori DNA, despite having some Pākehā ancestry. Kaipara described herself as a "full-blooded Māori".[2][3][4]
She received her moko kauae facial tattoo in January 2019 while she was a journalist for TVNZ's Te Karere.[5] In November 2019 she was the first person with a moko kauae to present mainstream television news on TVNZ's 1News.[6][7]
In May 2021 she moved to Three and began presenting news on the programme Newshub Live at 4.30 pm.[8]
In February 2022 Kaipara joined Simon Shepherd as co-host of Three's weekly political current affairs show Newshub Nation. As host, she was valued for her conversational fluency in both Māori and English, her approach to political issues that are important to Māori, and her commitment to the renewal of both te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.[9][10]
In 2022, Kaipara acted the parts of Te Akiu in the film We Are Still Here, and Hine in Muru. She has also presented news on AM, guest hosted The Project and hosted Cyberworld.[11]
Kaipara announced in December 2023 that she would be leaving TV3 to become Māori cultural lead for the New Zealand Olympic Committee.[12]
Political career
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–present | 54th | Tāmaki Makaurau | Te Pāti Māori | ||
In July 2025 Kaipara was selected to be Te Pāti Māori's candidate for the 2025 Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.[13] During a candidate debate held in mid-August 2025, she and Labour candidate Peeni Henare voiced support for repealing the Gangs Act 2024's ban on gang patches.[14] Kaipara won the 6 September election with a 2,938 vote margin on the preliminary count.[15][16] Following Henare's concession, Kaipara sang and gave an acceptance speech to her supporters.[17]
On 9 October 2025, Kaipara gave her maiden speech in the New Zealand Parliament, which exceeded the 15 minute time limit.[18][19] During her speech, she said that she stood in the New Zealand House of Representatives as "product of Māori resilience" rather than a "survivor of colonisation." Kaipara also talked about the fight for the Māori language and rights.[18] Following her speech, a member of the public in the public gallery gave an impromptu waiata and haka in honour of Kaipara. In response, Speaker Gerry Brownlee halted proceedings and cleared the House, condemning the actions as "contemptous" and saying he would investigate any parties involved in the haka.[18] On 14 October, Brownlee ruled that Kaipara had disrespected the Parliamentary process by exceeding her 15-minute speech limit since she had been granted an earlier slot for Te Pāti Māori's leadership to announce the party's reset.[19]
In late October 2025, Kaipara expresses support for embattled colleague MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi amidst internal party proceedings to suspend her.[20]
Recognition
In 2008, Kaipara won the best female television presenter award at the Māori Media Awards.[21] In 2018, Kaipara won the Voyager award for Best Māori Affairs Reporter for her work on Native Affairs for Māori Television.[22]
In 2021 Kaipara received international recognition for being the first person to host a prime-time news programme on national television with traditional facial markings.[23][24][25][26]