May 06, 2013
Māoridom’s big loss
Opinion: By the time you read this column, I will have been down on the East Coast for a couple of days.
I will have spoken on the Hauiti Marae in Tolaga Bay about Parekura Horomia and I will have laughed, cried and listened to a ton of other people's stories about a man who was not only big in stature but big in mana.
Parekura faced criticism as Māori Affairs Minister because he was overweight, suffered diabetes and obviously enjoyed a good kai.
But he never let that sort of criticism stop him from doing what he could for his people.
Tomorrow there will be an outpouring of emotion, probably not seen since the Māori Queen died.
It's funny because when a person dies we all concentrate on the good, and often mask over bad parts of their lives.
But I can honestly say, from the thousands who have made their way to the East Coast for Saturday's tangi, Parekura was a good man who stayed honest to his people and his constituents.
He was in tune with the people who voted him in as Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP and managed to get to nearly every significant event going.
If there was a tangi or a wedding on the East Coast you could almost guarantee Parekura's presence.
That's why he was so popular – he didn't bother with a lot of the carry-on at the Beehive, he preferred to concentrate on his home patch.
He was never the X-Factor type like Winston Peters, Pita Sharples or Hone Harawira but his people could count on him and he was Labour's most prominent Māori MP for well over a decade.
Parekura was actually a relation of mine.
When I heard he had passed away, I immediately knew I had to take my mum to the Coast to pay our respects because I remember vividly what he did for our whānau when my dad passed away in 1994.
At the time Parekura was a high-flying government bureaucrat, yet it was nothing for him to drop what he was doing upon my dad's death and make my mum's couch his home for a few days.
The love, support and respect he showed my mum is a memory I will always have.
I also have great memories of going to Parliament with Parekura.
He, myself and John Tamihere were all new MPs in the class of 99.
Unfortunately our political careers ended a little prematurely while Parekura's flourished and he served 14 years before his death and was unbeatable in his beloved Ikaroa-Rawhiti seat.
He was a great mate and relation and we will miss him dearly.
No reira, e te whānaunga Parekura, takoto mai, takoto mai, moe mai rā.