Te Pāti Māori has fired the starting gun on its 2026 election campaign with a clear message to Māori voters — winning the Māori electorates will be central to its strategy for changing the Government.
Political commentator and Māori advocate Willie Te Aho says the campaign launch comes at a critical point for the party, as it looks to rebuild momentum and mobilise Māori voters ahead of election day.
Launching at Te Poho o Rāwiri Marae in Tairāwhiti, Te Pāti Māori put its candidates and the Māori electorates at the centre of its election strategy.
Co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi emphasised the importance of the candidate vote, effectively encouraging supporters to think strategically about the two votes available under MMP. The approach allows voters to back a Te Pāti Māori electorate candidate while making a separate choice with their party vote.
It sets the scene for another intense contest between Te Pāti Māori and Labour across the Māori electorates, with representation, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tino rangatiratanga, housing, hauora and the cost of living among the issues expected to dominate the campaign.
For Te Aho, however, the weekend also carries a much deeper significance following the passing of Māori education pioneer Te Kepa Takataka-ō-Rangi Stirling.
Te Kepa, of Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou, died aged 88 after a lifetime dedicated to strengthening Māori language, identity and education.
Almost 50 years ago, Te Kepa and his late wife Pani Takawhenua Waipapa Stirling began developing a Māori education pathway at Ngā Tapuwae College in Māngere, helping create an environment where te reo Māori and tikanga Māori could sit at the heart of learning. That kaupapa grew from an immersion unit into what became Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae.
Te Kepa’s journey was itself remarkable. Originally a carpenter, he retrained as a Māori teacher in 1976 before joining Ngā Tapuwae College as a physical education and Māori language teacher. His work alongside Pani became part of the wider movement that helped establish Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori education across Aotearoa.
His influence extended far beyond the classroom, with generations of tauira, whānau and educators carrying forward the commitment to speaking te reo Māori and placing Māori identity at the centre of education.
For Te Aho, the passing of Te Kepa Stirling and the beginning of another Māori political campaign bring together two powerful strands of the same kaupapa — the generations who fought to build Māori institutions, and the responsibility on today’s generation to protect and advance them.
Te Kepa remains at Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae in Māngere before beginning his final journey home to Te Whānau-a-Apanui on Tuesday. He will return to Wairūrū Marae at Raukōkore, with his nehu to take place at Moutara on Thursday.
As Election 2026 gathers momentum, the political battle will be fought over votes and representation. But the legacy of leaders such as Te Kepa Stirling is a reminder that Māori advancement has also been built over decades — through kura, te reo, tikanga, whānau and people prepared to create institutions for generations they might never live to see.
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