Tamatha (Ngāti Awa, Waikato Tainui) hails from the mighty Tokoroa where her dad drove trucks and mum worked as an aged care worker. Tamatha’s upbringing has shaped the way she sees the world and knows that her greatest privilege was growing up in a small town with a proud Cook Island, Māori, and working class identity. Growing up in a town dependent on industries that destroy the environment during the John Key era radicalised Tamatha.

Tamatha worked two jobs throughout high school to save up enough money to move to Pōneke to study at Vic. As the first in her whānau to attend University, moving to Wellington was quite the culture shock. Tamatha channelled her energy into advocating for sexual violence prevention in tertiary spaces, better rental housing protections for renters, and public transport discounts for students. She was elected as the first Māori woman to lead the Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Tamatha also completed a Master of Resource and Environmental Planning writing her dissertation on the provision of public housing.

In 2019, after having a dispute over liquor bans with her local city councillor, Tamatha stood for the central city on Wellington City Council. During her time as a city councillor, Tamatha:

  •       Tripled the housing capacity of Wellington City by supporting densification of the inner city through the Spatial Plan
  •       Got $200m+ for a connected, low-cost, citywide cycleway network
  •       Secured $10m for the Pōneke Promise project to make town safer and prevent sexual violence in the central city
  •       Banned all new pokie machines in Wellington including preventing mergers or relocations of class 4 gambling machines
  •       Restoring Māori place names
  •       Campaigned with Wellington City Council housing tenants advocating for affordable rents and better public housing standards

In 2023, Tamatha won the seat for Wellington Central with a strong mandate after running the largest grassroots Green electorate campaign in history. Tamatha is the first ever Māori MP for Wellington Central, as well as the youngest MP for the Green Party.


Our people

Marama Davidson

Marama grew up all over Aotearoa; born in Auckland, she then lived in Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch. When Marama was nine, her grandfather p...
Read More

Chlöe Swarbrick

Chlöe is the Co-Leader of the Green Party, and your local Member of Parliament for Auckland Central. She is also the Party’s spokesperson for Clima...
Read More

Julie Anne Genter

Julie Anne Genter (List MP: 2011-2023, Electorate MP: 2023 - …) is the Green MP for Rongotai and has been a Green list MP for over 12 years. Julie...
Read More

Teanau Tuiono

Teanau has over 20 years experience as an activist, an advocate, and organiser at local, national, and international levels. He attributes his inte...
Read More

Lan Pham

Lan is of Vietnamese and Pākehā (Irish, English) heritage from Ōtautahi, Christchurch. Born and bred in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, she’s been...
Read More

Ricardo Menéndez March

Ricardo has led successful campaigns to end benefit sanctions, lift incomes, and better protect migrant workers. Growing up in Tijuana, Mexico, Ri...
Read More

Steve Abel

Steve Abel is a long-time environment and climate activist with an impressive record of successful advocacy as a part of campaigns to end native l...
Read More

Hūhana Lyndon

Hūhana Lyndon, nō Ngātiwai, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato Tainui and Pare Hauraki. Daughter of the North, her roots, life and career are firml...
Read More

Scott Willis

Scott grew up in rural Otago, exploring the hills, mountains, waterways and bush. The connections between people and with nature are an essential ...
Read More

Kahurangi Carter

Kahurangi (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tainui) was raised in a small farming community in the Waikato. She grew up with a deep connection to Ranginui and Pap...
Read More

Celia Wade-Brown

Celia Wade-Brown QSO was Mayor of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, from 2010 - 2016. She was an elected Councillor for fourteen years b...
Read More

Lawrence Xu-Nan

Born in Tianjin, China, Lawrence grew up in East Auckland where he attended school. He then went on to the University of Auckland and received his ...
Read More

Francisco Hernandez

Francisco Hernandez brings his passion for climate change issues and his background in political activism and the public service to the Green Party...
Read More