Kahurangi Carter

Kahurangi "Kahu" Carter (born 1983 or 1984) is a New Zealand politician, representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 New Zealand general election.

Early life Carter was born in 1983 or 1984 and is of Ngāti Maniapoto and Tainui descent. She studied psychology and philosophy at the University of Auckland. She trained as an actor in New York, and appeared in a controversial promotional video as part of the Chorus Gigatown competition. Two of Carter's family members were involved in the Christchurch rebuild as structural engineers, and Carter "fell in love with" the city and moved there in 2021.

First term, 2023–present In late November 2023, Carter assumed the Green Party's Zero Waste, Children, Disability Issues, Rainbow Communities, Community and Voluntary Sector, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Christchurch Issues spokesperson portfolios. She also became the party's Deputy Musterer.

In November 2024, Carter became the sponsor of the Green Party's Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill, which proposed allowing copyrighted works to be used for parody, satire and memes. On 8 November 2024, the bill was pulled from Parliament's ballot. Carter said that the bill would "protect artists' right to freedom of speech, and in doing so helps protect our democracy."

In September 2025, Carter had a second member bill drawn from the biscuit tin. The bill would establish a Good Samaritan law such that people calling emergency services would not be prosecuted for related low-level drug offences.

In January 2026, Carter announced that she would be contesting the Christchurch Central electorate at the 2026 general election, after incumbent Duncan Webb announced his retirement.

In late July 2026, Carter introduced a member's bill called the Waste Minimisation (Food Waste) Amendment Bill, which would require supermarkets to donate surplus food to charities in order to minimise food waste. Her bill was modelled after French legislation requiring supermarkets to reduce food waste and donate suitable surplus food to charities.

Views and positions Issues Carter sees as important for Christchurch include protections for people in rental housing, wage increases, affordable city living, public transport, and waste minimisation.