Labour has released a list of nominees gunning for the Ikaroa-Rawhiti electorate seat, left vacant by incumbent MP Parekura Horomia, who passed away last month.
Six people are in the mix and the powers that be in the wider Labour Party have four days to decide which one they'll choose to contest the June 29 by-election.
The winning nominee will be announced on Sunday afternoon.
Labour is widely expected to retain the seat, but candidates from the Maori Party, Mana and the Greens will also stand. It is understood National will not contest the by-election.
Labour's nominees:
Hayden Hape
Mr Hape owns a contracting company and an agricultural training centre in Pipiwai.
He is currently a trustee of Ngati Kahungunu, the chairperson of the Kahungungu Ki Tamaki Nui A Rua trust and is a director for the Kahungunu Asset Holding Company.
He has worked as a shearer, in a meatworks and as a sawmill labourer and is based in Dannevirke.
Molly Keelen-Para
Ms Keelen-Para is of Ngati Porou and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti affiliation and is currently working on a master's thesis. She plans to go on to complete a PhD and works part-time for Tairawhiti Mental Health Services.
Her health background includes being a board member for Puhi Kaiti Medical Centre, the Tairawhiti Hospital Advisory Committee, Puhi Kaiti Māori Women's Welfare League and the Schizophrenic Fellowship Branch in Tairawhiti.
She has also been a member of the Gisborne Arts Council and the Lytton High School board of trustees.
Henare Ngaera O’Keefe
Mr O'Keefe is a councillor for the Hastings District Council and is affiliated to Ngati Porou and Ngati Kanhungunu.
He started working at the Tomoana Freezing Works in 1971 and stayed there for 23 years until it closed in 1994. After the closure, he became a social worker and helped find work for the 800 people who were made redundant.
Along with his wife Pam, he's fostered more than 200 children and has been apart of the Books In Homes programme, an anti-violence campaign and the Yellow Ribbon programme.
Tāmati Olsen
Mr Olsen is a Wellington-based Maori development adviser at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. He's spent 20 years as a public servant, including time at Housing New Zealand and Statistics New Zealand.
He's affiliated to Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu and Ngati Rakaipaaka and is an old boy of Hawke's Bay's Te Aute Māori Boy's College.
Mr Olsen is also currently the chairperson of Wairoa iwi Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa.
Shane Taurima
Mr Taurima is a journalist and producer with a career spanning around 18 years. He has worked at TVNZ on a number of programmes, including Te Karere, Marae and Q&A.
He spent his childhood in Napier and Gisborne, is fluent in Te Reo and is affiliated to Ngati Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine (Mahia).
Meka Whaitiri
Ms Whaitiri is the chief executive of Ngāti Kahungunu and a director for the iwi's asset holding company. She's also a member of the Waka Ama National Board and the Hawke's Bay Netball Board.
She was born in the Gisborne suburb of Manutuke, grew up in Whakatu, near Hastings and is affiliated to Ngati Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata.
Her work experience includes time at a meatworks, as a senior public servant and an advisor in the office of the Maori Affairs Ministry.
3 News
source: newshub archive
