WELLINGTON, Nov 16 - For three years, lawyer Tania Waikato used social media to challenge what she saw as the government's assault on New Zealand's founding document and to encourage people to vote. Now, as a newly elected Green MP, she is taking the fight to parliament.
Waikato, 47, is among at least nine new Maori MPs expected to join the 55th parliament, according to preliminary results, building on the record Maori representation elected in 2023.
But the most visible emerging force is a younger, largely left-leaning generation who see politics not simply as a contest over budgets and election cycles, but as a struggle over identity, rights and the direction of the country.
Their influence could be particularly significant after three years of a conservative government that has moved to reduce the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in public policy and to unwind programmes designed to address entrenched inequality.
Preliminary results show the incumbent National-led coalition holding a narrow majority, although nearly 400,000 votes — around 14% of the total — remain to be counted before final results are announced on November 27.
"My main focus is to work towards the entrenchment of Tiriti (the Treaty of Waitangi),"
