Pita Paraone

Rewiti Pomare Kingi "Pita" Paraone MNZM (30 November 1945 – 26 August 2019) was a New Zealand politician and chairman of the Waitangi National Trust Board. He was a member of the New Zealand First party.

Pita Paraone

MNZM
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Zealand First party list
In office
22 July 2002 (2002-07-22) – 8 November 2008
In office
21 September 2014 – 23 September 2017
Personal details
Born
Rewiti Pomare Kingi Paraone

(1945-11-30)30 November 1945
Kawakawa, New Zealand
Died26 August 2019(2019-08-26) (aged 73)
Auckland, New Zealand
Political partyNew Zealand First

Early life and family

Paraone was born on 30 November 1945 in Kawakawa in the Northland Region.[1] He received his education at Motatau District High School and Bay of Islands College. He had a Diploma in Business Development from the University of Auckland, and a Diploma in Social Work from Victoria University of Wellington.[1] He also attended the Henley Management College in Henley-on-Thames, England.[1]

Before entering politics, Paraone had a long career in public service spanning several decades.[1] He was a regional director for Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Maori Development.[1] In the 1997 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and the community.[2] He lived in Pakuranga during his first period in parliament.[3]

Paraone was married with three children.[1]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2002–2005 47th List 7 NZ First
2005–2008 48th List 7 NZ First
2014–2017 51st List 8 NZ First

Before entering parliament, Paraone was a board member of New Zealand First (1999–2000) and a member of the Board of Directors (2000–2002).[1]

He stood in the 1999 election in the Pakuranga electorate but was unsuccessful.[4] He was ranked 19th on the New Zealand First party list, which was too low to be elected from the list.[5] He was first elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 2002 election. In the 2008 general election Paraone was sixth on the New Zealand First list, but the party lost all its parliamentary seats, winning no electorates and polling below the 5% threshold.[3]

In December 2009 he was elected a Chairman of the Waitangi National Trust Board, replacing Jeremy Williams. Paraone has been on the board of the Waitangi National Trust since 1997.[6]

In 2014, Paraone was re-elected as a New Zealand First list MP and was his party spokesperson on Māori Affairs, Treaty of Waitangi Issues, Pacific Island Affairs, and the Office of Treaty Settlements.[7][8] At the 2017 election however, Paraone was ranked 11th on the New Zealand First list and was not returned to Parliament.[9][10] Paraone publicly encouraged his party to support the formation of Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand.[7][10] He was appointed chair of the Local Government Commission in November 2018 and held this appointment until his death.

Death

Paraone died in Auckland on 26 August 2019.[11] He had undergone cardiac surgery just three weeks prior, but had failed to recover.[12] The incumbent Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, offered his condolences, stating that he was "deeply saddened" by the death.[13]

gollark: Anyway, the solution would be door locks.
gollark: That's actually quite clever.
gollark: <@267332760048238593> No, because my evil underground base is forcefielded.
gollark: I'm going to run an itemduct to the reactor and send fuel down it.
gollark: Given lots of power.

References
  1. "Pita Paraone". New Zealand Parliament. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  2. "New Year honours list 1997". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1996. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  3. Dinsdale, Mike (29 September 2014). "MP returns vowing to push for North". The Northern Advocate. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  4. "Candidate vote details – Pakuranga". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  5. "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  6. "Waitangi Trust Board has new chairman". The New Zealand Herald. Newstalk ZB. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  7. Satherley, Dan (26 August 2019). "Former New Zealand First MP Pita Paraone dies aged 73". Newshub. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. "Paraone, Pita - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". www.electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. Jones, Nicholas (15 October 2017). "Outgoing NZ First MP: 'I feel the winds of change'". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  11. "Ngāti Hine in mourning after death of Waitangi stalwart, Pita Paraone". RNZ News. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  12. "Ngāti Hine in mourning after Pita Paraone dies". 25 August 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  13. "Ngāti Hine in mourning after death of Waitangi stalwart Pita Paraone". Stuff. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
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