Elizabeth Kerekere

Elizabeth Anne Kerekere (born ) is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Greens on 5 May 2023, following allegations of bullying within the party. Kerekere remained in parliament as an independent until the 2023 election.

Kerekere identifies as and produced the first major research on identity with her doctoral thesis in 2017. She is also an artist and graduated from Eastern Institute of Technology with a bachelor in Māori visual arts .

Personal life Kerekere was born in Gisborne, New Zealand. Her father, Karauria Tarao "Bison" Kerekere, was an artist and master carver. He was Māori, and of the Te Whānau a Kai, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Ngāti Oneone iwi. Kerekere is a lesbian, and is married to Alofa Aiono, whom she met in 1992. The couple held their civil union in Te Papa's marae, Te Marae Rongomaraeroa, which Kerekere advised on the design of in the late 1980s. As a teenager Kerekere was part of both the Māori and Black Women's movements, involved in a variety of political groups including Young PACIFICA and the Ōtepoti Black Women's Group. In the 1980s, she also campaigned in the nuclear free and homosexual law reform movements, and joined Māori and Pacific lesbian activist group Ngā Wāhine mō Ngā Wāhine o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Between 1998 and 2002, Kerekere ran a weekly lotto fundraiser to make sure that Māori, Pacific, and low income lesbians would be represented on the team. Her desire for Māori representation in the Gay Games was also a motivation behind establishing the Tīwhanawhana Trust, which she did in 2001 with support from Māori women's performing trust Tī Kouka.

Kerekere wrote that Tīwhanawhana has aimed "to uplift the mana of takatāpui both through Māori language and culture, and by advocating for takatāpui rights, health and well-being." In 2019, Kerekere and Haunui led Tīwhanawhana as one of the host organisations – alongside Intersex Aotearoa and Rainbow Youth – in hosting the ILGA World conference.

Long active in queer youth work, in 2007 Kerekere was involved in the KAHA Queer Youth Hui 2007, for which she created her first takatāpui youth group guidelines. Through this role she organized the KAHA National Queer Youth Hui 2009, travelling nationally and developing relationships with youth groups.

Academic career Throughout her studies at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Kerekere focussed on mana tūpuna (ancestors), mana wāhine (women) and mana takatāpui (the right to live and love regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity) and was the only degree graduate to have a solo exhibition. and completing a PhD in 2017.

Political career

Kerekere stood in the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 2017 New Zealand general election. She placed third of three candidates with 1,924 votes. Her list placing of 19th was too low for her to enter parliament as a list MP.

Kerekere contested Ikaroa-Rāwhiti for the Green Party again in 2020. Although she again did not win Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Kerekere entered parliament ninth on the Green Party's list. Upon her election, and until her resignation from the Green Party in May 2023, she was appointed the Green Party deputy musterer (whip) and spokesperson for arts, culture and heritage, the community and voluntary sector, health, Māori development, rainbow communities, statistics, and Whānau Ora. She is a member of the health select committee and the Pae Ora legislation committee.

Bullying behaviour allegations In early April 2023, the Green Party launched an investigation into Kerekere after she allegedly disparaged fellow Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick in a leaked group chat. Radio New Zealand subsequently reported that at least seven current and former Green Party staff had made allegations of bullying and combative behaviour against Kerekere. In response, a Green Party spokesperson stated that Kerekere was undergoing an "internal process" being conducted by musterer Jan Logie and chief of staff Robin Campbell.

In response to the bullying allegations, members of the Green Party's Te Mātāwaka (the Māori and Pasifika rōpu) and the Rainbow Greens voiced support for Kerekere. An unidentified former senior Māori Green Party advisor claimed that Kerekere was the victim of bullying and alleged "dirty politics." According to Stuff, Kerekere's high fourth-place ranking in the draft Green Party list had "ruffled feathers" with the parliamentary caucus. In late April, supporters of Kerekere failed to delay the Green Party's list rankings until the investigation into Kerekere's conduct had been concluded. In early May 2023, the party's GreenLeft Network endorsed Kerekere as a preferred candidate in the party's ranking process, effectively calling on members to rank her highly on the party list.

On 5 May 2023 Kerekere left the Green Party to sit as an independent and announced she would not stand at the 2023 election. Kerekere announced her decision during a Zoom call with Green members that night. During the Zoom call, Kerekere expressed frustration with delays in the Green Party's investigation into her behaviour and accused co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson of making it difficult for her to continue working with the party. In response, Shaw and Davidson disputed Kerekere's allegations and defended the investigation process, stating that Kerekere had resigned before the process could be concluded. They also confirmed that the party did not intend to use the waka-jumping provisions of the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 to expel Kerekere from Parliament. On 10 May, Kerekere ruled out joining Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party).

On 16 August 2023, Kerekere gave her valedictory speech in Parliament. She criticised Shaw and Davidson, accusing them of making "unfounded and increasingly elaborate allegations against her." Kerekere also alleged she was denied natural justice and was not subject to a formal complaints process, which she described as an "epic failure of leadership." In an interview that day, Kerekere explained that the "crybaby" reference was to herself, and that she thought she was sending the message to her wife.

After parliament

Kerekere is running for election as a Gisborne District councillor for the Tairāwhiti Māori ward in the 2025 local elections.

List of works