Tākuta Ferris

Ferris was born in 1978.[1] Piri Sciascia was his uncle.[2] Ferris has a degree in Māori Design and Art, as well as a degree in Mātauranga Māori, both from Te Wānanga o Raukawa.[1][3] He is of the Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou iwi.[4] Ferris was a lecturer and adviser at Massey University's Manawatū campus.[3][5]

On 10 May 2020, Tākuta Ferris was selected as the Māori Party candidate for Te Tai Tonga for the 2020 election. Ferris was quoted as saying that "the status quo is no longer acceptable. It is our responsibility to challenge it and change the development narrative for our tamariki and mokopuna."[4] Ferris was beaten by the incumbent, Rino Tirikatene, by a margin of over 6,800 votes.[3] Following the announcement of the closure of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, Ferris called for the government to put whānau first, saying that "Government and Southland Regional council needs to have an emergency intervention now, to scope out alternatives, to set up a job’s taskforce for Murihiku; to support a more diversified economic solution across the Southern region."[6]

At the 2023 election, Ferris was elected as the MP for Te Tai Tonga, replacing the incumbent. It was seen as one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 election and his win had not been predicted. Tirikatene had held the electorate since the 2011 election, and members of Tirikatene's family have represented the electorate (including its predecessor Southern Maori) for 72 of the last 91 years.[3] An opinion poll in late September 2023 had Tirikatene ahead with an 11-point margin.[7] According to provisional results, Ferris received 9,426 votes to 7,963 for Tirikatene.[8]