The former politician held the Te Tai Hauāuru Māori seat for 12 years and was co-leader of the Māori Party before retiring in 2014.

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Photo of The former politician held the Te Tai Hauāuru Māori seat for 12 years and was co-leader of the Māori Party before retiring in 2014.

The former politician held the Te Tai Hauāuru Māori seat for 12 years and was co-leader of the Māori Party before retiring in 2014.

She is backing calls for compulsory te reo Māori in school, with only a quarter of the country's students learning some degree of the language.

Dame Tariana said she did not have te reo Māori, and that has been painful for her.

She said some people suggested she had no right to represent Māori in Parliament because she did not have te reo.

 

Read more: RNZ

Manawatū-Whanganui | Whanganui | 2010-19 | Story is by tangata whenua

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