Heather Te Au Skipworth QSM, founder and CEO of IronMāori, has been named by the Māori Party as its candidate to contest the Ikaroa Rāwhiti seat in the upcoming general election.

Māori Party Ikaroa-Rawhiti Co-Chair Hinetu Dell said that the contest for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti seat was hotly contested, but that Heather won the crowd - a testament to her vision for the electorate, huge community following, engaging style and unwavering commitment to whānau.

“Ikaroa Rāwhiti is invigorated and rearing to go. We’re excited and proud to have such a high-calibre mana wahine in Heather to represent us in the upcoming election. We thank all the candidates who put their hands up to stand. Ikaroa Rāwhiti has a proud history of strong Māori political representation, and we believe Heather is the right person to carry on that legacy.” said Dell.

Heather Te Au Skipworth said she is proud to represent the Māori Party and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti in the upcoming election, and to continue in the pursuit of supporting whānau transformation that inspired her IronMāori journey.

“I see the injustices our people still face today, in every sector, every system, every policy, every government door that our people walk through, and I want to change that,” said Skipworth.

“The Māori Party is focused on fighting for the rights and interests as tangata whenua and that must start by eliminating the institutionalized racism we contend with every day”.

“I have committed my life to leading positive change and am ready for the challenge before-us, “Kia tapatahi, kia kotahi rā, tatou tatou e,” said Te Au-Skipworth.

Che Wilson, Māori Party President said he was looking forward to working with Heather, and congratulated Ikaroa-Rāwhiti for confirming Te Au-Skipworth.

“Heather is a strong wahine Māori who has a track record of delivering meaningful change for whānau on the ground. We are priviledged to have her on our team.

Heather joins Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Te Tai Hauāuru) and Rawiri Waititi (Waiariki) in a resurgent and refreshed Māori Party team.

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