They called her "the Foxy Lady," and just a few weeks after entering Parliament, Masterton mother-of-nine Marama Fox almost brought down her party's government.

"They called her 'the Foxy Lady.'" - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

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Former Māori Party co-leader and list MP Marama Fox was never one to do things in half-measures.

In 2014, only a few weeks after entering Parliament, the Masterton mother-of-nine almost brought down her party's government, accidentally opposing a confidence motion in the incoming government her party was a part of, after receiving the wrong advice from an official.

The opposition benches were in raptures.

"I could see all these cameras going click, click, click, click, click, so I quickly sent out a tweet and said, 'I just about brought down the government. Oops,'" she told Morgan Godfery.

Moments later, Fox stood to make a point of order, correcting her vote and casting two votes against the no-confidence motion.

The government had the numbers, and from 2014 to 2017, Fox was closely involved in key reforms going "down to the wire" over reforms to the old Child, Youth and Family agency.

It was Fox and her co-leader colleague Te Ururoa Flavell who helped ensure that "Vulnerable" was removed from the new agency's name.

But perhaps the most intense pressure came during negotiations to amend the Resource Management Act, a process that took the National government almost eight years to see through.

In 2017, National were keen to move and put their reforms to a vote in the House, but Fox wouldn't guarantee her party's support until iwi were given a greater say in the consent process.

"Tuku was going, 'Marama, sign it,'" Fox said.

"I'm on the back of my horse, in the middle of the paddock, getting phone calls for nine hours from everybody trying to get me to sign it. I said, 'I won't.'"

Fox's tenacity helped the party secure the changes it wanted, and they eventually voted in favour of the reform bill.

Fox credits her mother, an early childhood educator, for "politicising" her. Growing up in Christchurch, the MP-to-be "went to some of the flashest schools" in town.

She recalls one the early lessons her mother taught her.

"I needed to be better than my best. literally sat me down and said, 'Marama, you're Māori, you're a young woman, and you're at the bottom of every statistic in this country.''…

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Tau Henare retired from politics in 2014 - but could there be a comeback? Asked if he misses Parliament, Tau doesn't hesitate. "Hell yes!" he exclaims.

"Tau Henare comes from a long line of political leaders." - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

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His great-grandfather, Taurekareka Henare, was an MP from 1914 to 1938. His grandfather, Sir James Henare, once a candidate for Governor-General, was also a prominent community leader and the Māori Battalion commanding officer at the end of World War II.

Henare's roots are as illustrious as they come. Did that mean pressure to be "political"?

Not from his parents, Henare told Morgan Godfery, but as he got older, he wanted to "emulate" his grandfather.

"I always wanted to be like him. I suppose the terrible thing is I wanted to be famous like him."

Henare won the Northern Māori seat at the 1993 election as a New Zealand First candidate.

It was an unconventional choice for the former union organiser.

"The rules are there to be broken," Henare says.

He made it back again in 1996, and was at Peter's side in the first MMP coalition negotiations, acting as a go-between for Labour, National, and New Zealand First.

In Henare's words, it was a close-run thing, and in the final days, he put through a call to Labour leader Helen Clark, asking in his typical style, "Is there a job for the old man?" - meaning the treasurer's job for Winston.

Clark said no.

If she had said yes, "we would've gone with her," said Henare.

In the incoming National-New Zealand First coalition, Henare was made Minister of Māori Affairs, helping to secure new money for te reo Māori learning initiatives, new money for the forerunner to Māori Television, and, significantly, the return of koiwi (human remains) from foreign museums.

"Sometimes you do things and they don't amount to much. Or they're incremental. Building blocks. And although the repatriation of our tupuna didn't give anybody a job, didn't cut down the employment rate, I'll tell you what, I'd do it again one hundred times. And shit yes, I brought them back first-class."

It was one of Henare's crowning achievements. But after one term, his government was turfed out. Henare, though, doesn't play by the rules. In 2005, he was back - this time as a National list MP serving as Māori Affairs Select Committee chair, until 2014.

Does he miss Parliament?

"Hell yes. I'd swap this for that at the snap of the fingers."

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Sandra Lee is a history-maker: the first Māori woman to win a general electorate seat, and the first person to lead a kaupapa Māori party (Mana Motuhake) into Parliament.

"Sandra Lee is a history-maker" - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

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Sandra Lee was the first Māori woman to win a general electorate seat, and the first person to lead a kaupapa Māori party (Mana Motuhake) into Parliament.

But did the young mum from Arahura Pā, on the South Island's west coast, who ended up serving as Minister for Conservation in the Labour-Alliance Coalition from 1999 to 2002, ever get the feeling she was making history?

As it turns out, she was never expecting to win in the "rabid" election campaign in 1993.

"Even though our polling showed I was going to win , at the back of mind, I couldn't see myself winning," she told Morgan Godfery.

"On the afternoon of the election, I went out to Piha, on the west coast of , and called down to my tupuna Tuhuru on the west coast of the South Island. I asked him to give me the mana to take the long walk when I conceded defeat to Richard Prebble.

"Fortunately, it was a long walk I didn't have to take."The win set Lee on her path.

One year later, her mentor, the legendary former Labour MP Matiu Rata, stood down from the Mana Motuhake party's leadership, with Lee taking up the reins.And in 1999, Lee took up a ministerial warrant in the incoming Labour-

Alliance coalition, taking up the Conservation and Local Government portfolios as well as Associate Māori Affairs.

It was "like getting let loose in the lolly shop," Lee jokes.

"No more marching with a banner. No more writing submissions with Forest and Bird."

As a Minister, Lee made headlines for putting a stop to an application to log 130,000ha of rainforest on her native west coast. As Local Government Minister, she made history rewriting an "antiquated" Local Government Act and introducing the Treaty of Waitangi to it for the first time.

It was the culmination of a political journey that began on Waiheke Island in 1979.

"When Matiu Rata resigned from Parliament, I sent him a telegram from the Rocky Bay General Store and I said, "Right behind you - Sandra Lee, Ngāi Tahu'."

"Within an hour, he sent me back a telegram that read: 'Please organise a meeting of our people on the Island. I want to explain to them why I'm leaving Labour.'"

That meeting went ahead, and the rest is history.

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In 1996, New Zealand First signed a deal with National to form the first MMP coalition government, and Tuariki Delamere knew he would be a one-term MP.

"Tuariki Delamere is a classic all-rounder." - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

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The former Te Tai Rawhiti MP was once a world record holder in long jump, the chief financial officer at Polynesian Blue airline in Samoa and Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill in Kawerau, and a leading minister in the first MMP coalition government.

Delamere is also a former U.S. Army serviceman.

"They had a thing called the draft back ," he told Morgan Godfery.

"And I had a green card, so I was a permanent resident, and if you're a permanent resident, you're eligible for the draft."

Conscription put Delamere, who may be the only government minister to ever serve in the U.S. Army, on a path to West Point, one of the most prestigious military academies in the world.

Delamere was working as an "accounting specialist," but "the reason that I was there was they wanted someone to coach the jumpers."

In his young days, the New Zealand First MP-to-be was a long jumper famous for using the now-banned somersault technique. This is where a jumper somersaults off the board rather than "jumping" in the traditional manner.

Former Olympic champions, like decathlete Caitlyn Jenner, were experimenting with the technique in the early 1970s as well, but Delamere is perhaps best known for perfecting it during his stint at Washington State University.

His record still stands, even if it isn't officially recognised as such.

This was typical of Delamere: unconventional but surprisingly successful.

From the U.S., he went on to jobs in Samoa and back home in Waiariki (the Bay of Plenty), entering Parliament as the Māori seat MP in 1996.

Like his world record, was it a surprise to get in?

"They didn't vote for me. They didn't vote for Tau or the others. They voted for Winston," Delamere acknowledges...

"Winston did an incredible job getting blue-rinse Pākehā into the same waka as Māori, but unfortunately, once we got , he didn't carry through with it."

"He put us at different ends of the waka."

But Delamere kept at arm's length from some of the internal ructions in his party. Instead, much of his energy went to reforms in his various portfolios knowing that "a few months ago, I was just Joe Blow walking the streets of Whakatāne, up in the hills of the Urewera, and now I'm a Cabinet minister."…

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In 2004, Dame Tariana Turia voted against her own government's foreshore and seabed legislation before resigning from Parliament and returning as the Māori Party co-leader.

"Dame Tariana Turia is perhaps the most important Māori politician of the 21st century." - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

Watch the video version of the episode here.

In 2004, the then-Labour MP for Te Tai Hauāuru made an historic decision: she would vote against her own government's foreshore and seabed legislation, setting off a chain of events that saw the Whānau Ora founder resign from Parliament, and return with an overwhelming mandate as the Māori Party co-leader.

At its height, the party Turia co-founded brought in five MPs and served three terms in government, with Turia taking up the Whānau Ora and Community and Voluntary Sector portfolios.

"I was so excited for our people," Turia told Morgan Godfery, explaining how she felt when four Māori Party MPs made it into Parliament in 2005.

"[Our people] had faith in themselves. I was extremely proud. That's what I felt more than anything: a pride in knowing we could stand up and be counted."

But the path to that triumph in 2005 was far from smooth. The year before, Turia was the only Māori MP in Labour who made the decision to cross the floor and vote against the foreshore and seabed legislation.

"I was so disappointed in my colleagues," she said.

"I was incredibly lonely. The people who had been the closest to me were in the Labour caucus, and the only who ever spoke to me were John Tamihere , asking me if I was okay."

"I almost broke down and wept."

In the end, Te Tai Hauāuru voters returned Turia with 94 percent of the vote in 2004, and returned her again in 2005 and 2008.

That year, her party made the landmark decision to enter a confidence-and-supply agreement with the National Party.

"I'm always conscious of how this place operates, and it operates on numbers. You have to form a relationship with others."

"One of the things always told us was that it didn't matter who the government was and that our job was to get alongside of them and do the very best job for our people."

From 2008-2014, Turia did just that, working to secure funding for policies like Whānau Ora and Smokefree 2025.

But the former Minister remains circumspect, sounding a word over caution over the future of Treaty settlements.

"More and more, our people are beginning to say these are not settlements."…

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Did Metiria Turei mean to turn the 2017 election on its head? Earlier that year, the former Green Party co-leader made an admission that would upend their entire campaign.

"Did Metiria Turei mean to turn the 2017 election on its head?" - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

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At her party's annual conference earlier that year, the former Green co-leader made an admission that would upend the entire election campaign: as a young mother, she was accepting rent money from flatmates, without disclosing it to Work and Income.

At that time, Turei was a struggling parent putting herself through law school. Years later, the admission was meant as instructive: benefit levels are too low, and that forces young mothers and beneficiaries to make impossible decisions.

But her political opponents and many in the media saw an uncomplicated case of "benefit fraud," Journalists dug into her past, searching for records in places like the National Library, and tracking down old friends and family.

In the end, that scrutiny of her family became intolerable, and six weeks before the election, Turei stood down as Green co-leader.

It was the end of a 15-year career in Parliament that saw the former activist and lawyer champion issues like child poverty and the management of tūpāpaku (human remains), securing landmark select committee inquiries into both.

"Skilled up, we can take on power and authority," Turei told Morgan Godfery - host of Matangireia.

The then-Green MP saw a dramatic demonstration of that just two years into her parliamentary career, when the foreshore and seabed hīkoi made its way through Parliament's front gates.

"This is fierce as," she thought.

"Rod Donald had a big, green banner that said 'Honour the Treaty.' I was so stoked he'd done that."

"We were on side in that debate."

Turei and her Green Party colleagues cast their vote against the then-Labour-led government's Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 when it came up for its third and final reading.

Does it bother Turei that she never had the opportunity to be a part of the government?

"I do my fair share of yelling at the telly like everybody else does when I think things aren't going fast enough. But that's the whole point is that you make your contribution and move on. The best signifier that your contribution mattered is that the issues you were working on continue to progress."…

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Matangireia examines the legacies of six former Māori politicians from across the political spectrum, who share frank insights with series host Morgan Godfery.

Watch the video version of the trailer here.

In this six-part series, Matangireia, acclaimed political writer and commentator Morgan Godfery conducts frank interviews with six former Māori MPs: Metiria Turei, Dame Tariana Turia, Tuariki Delemere, Sandra Lee, Tau Henare, and Marama Fox.

Produced and directed by journalists Annabelle Lee-Mather and Mihingarangi Forbes, the series takes its name from Parliament's former Māori Affairs Committee room, Matangireia, which was built in 1922. It is also where the series was filmed.

Lee-Mather says it was fitting that the series was recorded in a room that holds such a significant place in the history of Māori politics: "Every time you walk into Matangirea, you can feel the weight of history. Not only is it a beautiful space, the room itself exudes its own mana."

The series provides new and compelling insights into the most challenging moments of six political careers, with the former politicians opening up about their darkest days and their moments of triumph. They also discuss the difficulties of transitioning to life after politics.

Forbes says it was a privilege to be trusted with these stories: "We were really pleased with the level of candour each politician approached the interview with. I think there's something in each episode that will surprise the audience, and we feel very fortunate to have been able to capture their reflections on some of the major events that have shaped Aotearoa in recent times."

Lee-Mather says she hopes the series will provide a better understanding of the challenges Māori face in Parliament: "The weight of expectation placed on Māori MPs is really incomparable to that of their tauiwi colleagues. They're sent to Parliament carrying the aspirations of their whānau, hapū, and iwi - and that includes righting some of the wrongs past generations of Māori have suffered - so they are under huge pressure to deliver."

While most were enjoying life after politics, others surprisingly expressed a strong desire to return to Parliament to finish what they started.

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Paula Bennett quickly became a breakout star in Parliament. But the former National Party MP opens up on the brutal leadership coup that sealed her fate.

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*The views expressed in this interview are the honestly held opinion of Paula Bennett

Paula Bennett quickly became a breakout star in Parliament. But the former National Party MP opens up on the brutal leadership coup that sealed her fate.

"They needed to grow some" - Bennett's scathing review of the National caucus and what led to one of the party's worst ever election defeats.

In her first candid interview about the ordeal and the insult which followed, the former National MP sat down with Mātangireia presenter Maiki Sherman.

Paula Bennett is one of the most recognisable faces in recent political history.

Charismatic and hard-working, her steely determination saw her quickly rise through the ranks of the National Party.

Coveting a range of ministerial portfolios, she formed part of the inner circle to one of the country's most popular prime ministers, Sir John Key.

The self-proclaimed 'westie' would also go on to serve as deputy prime minister under Sir Bill English.

Bennett's end in politics, however, will forever be a bruising one.

A leadership challenge saw Simon Bridges tossed out by the caucus, and Bennett along with him as deputy leader.

The assessment of her caucus colleagues in the leadership coup was scathing.

"They needed to grow some," she said.

"Too many of them had had it too easy to be quite blunt with you. They hadn't gone through what we'd just been through in the last six months."

Bennett said the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic dominated headlines and made it difficult for the opposition to gain cut-through.

Some within the caucus saw an opportunity to roll the leadership.

"They needed to take a breath and just sort of work their way through it. But there were forces that were bigger.

"At some level I just thought well, Simon and I are just going to be constantly kind of undermined from within, and caucus will decide its own destiny."

National MPs Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye emerged victorious, as leader and deputy leader respectively.

"I was hurt...I felt that I'd given not just 15 years but 20 years to this party," she said.

Bennett said what took place next added insult to injury.

Following the leadership change that Friday, she received an early morning call on Sunday from Muller…

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