Matiu Rata

The Honourable Matiu Rata
32nd Minister of Māori Affairs
In office 8 December 1972 – 12 December 1975
Prime Minister	Norman Kirk Bill Rowling
Preceded by	Duncan MacIntyre
Succeeded by	Duncan MacIntyre
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Northern Maori
In office 1963–1980
Preceded by	Tapihana Paraire Paikea
Succeeded by	Bruce Gregory
Personal details
Born	(1934-03-26)26 March 1934 Te Hāpua, New Zealand
Died	25 July 1997(1997-07-25) (aged 63)
Political party	Labour (1963–80) Mana Motuhake (1980–97)
Other political affiliations	Alliance

Matiu Waitai Rata (26 March 1934 – 25 July 1997) was a Māori politician who was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1980, and a cabinet minister from 1972 to 1975. In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Party and formed the Mana Motuhake Party.

Early life[]

Rata was born at Te Hāpua to Āta (Arthur) Rata and Mereana Holloway. His tribal connections were with Ngāti Kurī, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Whātua. He moved to Dargaville with his family when he was about five. His father died when he was 10, and the rest of the family moved to Auckland.^[1]

Political career[]

Rata was a Member of Parliament for Northern Maori from a 1963 by-election to 1980.

He was the Minister of Lands and Minister of Māori Affairs in the Third Labour Government of New Zealand between 1972 and 1975. He was the architect of both the Māori Affairs Amendment Act of 1974, which gave Māori greater control over their land, and the 1975 creation of the Waitangi Tribunal.^[2]

In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Party.^[2] In 1980 he resigned from Parliament and formed the Mana Motuhake Party to contest the resulting 1980 by-election. He was defeated by Bruce Gregory, coming second with 991 fewer votes than Gregory.

Following his exit from Parliament Matiu Rata was the leader of the Muriwhenua in presenting their Treaty of Waitangi claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, resulting in a settlement of Māori fishing claims for the tribes of the Far North.^[2]

He contested Northern Maori at every election from 1981 to 1990 for Mana Motuhake and in 1993 for the Alliance. In 1994 he retired from the Mana Motuhake leadership in favour of Alliance MP Sandra Lee.^[3]

Rata died on 25 July 1997 from injuries received eight days earlier when his car was hit head on by a vehicle driven by a foreign tourist who reportedly fell asleep at the wheel.^[4]

Rata's widow, Nellie Rata, stood for ACT in Te Tai Tokerau at the 1999 general election, having been unsuccessful in securing the Alliance nomination.^[5] She received 280 votes, to finish in seventh place in the 13-candidate race.

References[]

External links[]

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