Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te PÃÂti MÃÂori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the NgÃÂti Ruanui iwi.
Ngarewa-Packer stood for Te PÃÂti MÃÂori during the 2020 election in the seat of Te Tai HauÃÂuru. Ngarewa-Packer lost to Labour's Adrian Rurawhe however entered Parliament as a List MP. In 2023, she won the seat of Te Tai HauÃÂuru against Labour's Soraya Peke-Mason.
Ngarewa-Packer grew up in PÃÂtea and attended New Plymouth Girls' High School.
Ngarewa-Packer is a former deputy mayor of South Taranaki. She was elected to the South Taranaki District Council in the 2007 local elections, representing the PÃÂtea ward. She also contested the mayoral position, which was won by Ross Dunlop; after the elections Dunlop selected her as deputy mayor. She had that role until 2010, when she did not seek re-election.
Ngarewa-Packer is chief executive of the NgÃÂti Ruanui iwi. She has also been the kaiarataki of Te Rà «nanga o NgÃÂti Ruanui, an organisation that runs healthcare centres in HÃÂwera and PÃÂtea. She has advocated for MÃÂori health and the environment at a grassroots level for many years. In 2004, she rallied more than 250 Taranaki people to join with the foreshore and seabed hëkoi on its way to Wellington.
Ngarewa-Packer campaigned against seabed mining off the Taranaki coast. The Environmental Protection Authority granted a marine discharge consent to mining company Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) in 2017, but a later High Court decision cancelled these consents. In April 2020, the Court of Appeal found that EPA's 2017 decision was not consistent with the law to protect the environment from harmful substances. TTR appealed to the Supreme Court, to which Ngarewa-Packer said "WeâÂÂre annoyed that we may have to go to court for a fourth time as right now our efforts are focused on protecting our community from COVID-19. But we are undeterred in our resolve and we will oppose TTRâÂÂs application for yet another appeal." The Supreme Court's final decision supported the earlier courts in cancelling the consents.
In 2011, she joined a 10-member independent panel set up by the Government to identify ways to raise the rate of return on MÃÂori-owned assets, and grow MÃÂori contribution to New Zealand's economy.
Regarding the COVID-19 response, The Spinoff described Ngarewa-Packer in 2020 as "a key voice in the COVID-19 iwi response, not only in analysing and mitigating risks in her own rohe, but in keeping applied pressure on local and central government to include MÃÂori in their risk assessment."
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer "put her hand up" to be the MÃÂori Party's candidate for the Te Tai HauÃÂuru electorate for the 2017 election, saying she had been approached by party co-leader Tariana Turia and that she had "supported the Maori Party from day one". However, the party's candidate for this electorate was ultimately Howie Tamati.
Ngarewa-Packer was selected in October 2019 to be the MÃÂori Party's candidate for the Te Tai HauÃÂuru electorate for the 2020 election â the first electoral candidate announced by the party for that election â and in April 2020 was elected unopposed to be co-leader of the MÃÂori Party, along with John Tamihere. Ngarewa-Packer and Tamihere were the first party leaders elected since the MÃÂori Party lost its parliament seats in the 2017 election, after which its previous leaders stepped down. Ngarewa-Packer had the party's number one list position for the election.
Ngarewa-Packer was generally considered to be the MÃÂori Party's best chance at returning to Parliament; polls showed the party below the 5 per cent party vote threshold, so it would need to win at least one electorate seat to enter. A poll released in late September 2020 showed Labour's candidate for Te Tai HauÃÂuru, Adrian Rurawhe, as having greater support than Ngarewa-Packer, though there were a large number of undecided voters in the poll. In response to the poll, Ngarewa-Packer said she was buoyed by the number of undecided voters and called the electorate âÂÂwinnableâÂÂ. During the campaign, she stated a need for MÃÂori-led approaches to problems faced by MÃÂori such as worse health and housing, and that the MÃÂori Party would hold the government to account.
At the 2020 election, Ngarewa-Packer was elected as a Member of Parliament. She came second in the Te Tai HauÃÂuru electorate, receiving 11,107 electorate votes to Rurawhe's 12,160, but fellow Te PÃÂti MÃÂori co-leader Rawiri Waititi unseated Labour MP TÃÂmati Coffey in the Waiariki electorate. Waititi's electorate win meant that the MÃÂori Party was entitled to enter Parliament and to bring additional MPs if its party vote was high enough. The initial count suggested the party had won 1.0% of the party vote â only enough for one seat â but the final count showed the party had received 1.2% and was entitled to a second seat. Since the MÃÂori party constitution states that co-leaders must be first drawn from its parliamentary caucus, Waititi replaced Tamihere as Ngarewa-Packer's co-leader.
After the 2020 election, Ngarewa-Packer became the MÃÂori Party's parliamentary whip, or Mataura. On 26 November 2020, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi walked out of Parliament after the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard declined Waititi's motion that the MÃÂori Party be allowed to speak for 15 minutes because MPs from smaller parties were not scheduled to deliver their maiden speeches until the following week. Ngarewa-Packer criticised Mallard's decision as "another example of the MÃÂori voice being silenced and ignored." Writing in December 2020, journalist Marc Daalder said, "Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer have already garnered a reputation for â depending on who you ask â rabble-rousing, troublemaking or standing up for their rights."
In a 2021 interview, Ngarewa-Packer said her goals included helping whÃÂnau access safe housing, along with achieving better incomes and health outcomes.
On 10 May 2023, Speaker Adrian Rurawhe ordered Ngarewara-Packer and Waititi to leave proceedings at the House of Representatives after welcoming former Labour MP Meka Whaitiri with a haka (dance) without seeking the permission of the Speaker or other parliamentary parties.
Ngarewa-Packer submitted a member's bill in early 2021 which would ban seabed mining in New Zealand waters. This followed her eight-year work with her iwi campaigning against seabed mining near PÃÂtea. The Green Party has supported the Bill. To be introduced to parliament, the bill would need the support of 61 non-Minister MPs or be drawn from a random ballot.
On 10 May 2023, Ngarewa-Packer's Prohibition on Seabed Mining Legislation Amendment Bill was defeated at its first reading by margin of 106 to 13 votes. While the Labour, National and ACT parties voted against the Bill, her bill was supported by the MÃÂori and Green parties, and independent MPs Elizabeth Kerekere and Meka Whaitiri. During the debate, Ngarewa-Packer claimed that public opinion favoured a complete ban on seabed mining in New Zealand waters, citing 13,000 favourable submissions, a 40,000-strong petition, and opposition from MÃÂori iwi (tribes) and hapà « (sub-tribes), and Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand. She also criticised the Labour Government's lack of support for a complete ban on seabed mining in New Zealand.
Ngarewa-Packer has called for place names in Taranaki to be reverted to their original te reo MÃÂori names, and the MÃÂori Party presented a petition to parliament calling for New Zealand's official name to be Aotearoa. She said that "Our reo is the gateway to stopping racism."
Ngarewa-Packer has called upon the Government to "get out of the way" and instead let MÃÂori fix lagging COVID-19 vaccination rates. She and a team of volunteers spearheaded a mobile programme to lift COVID-19 vaccination rates in South Taranaki for "yaks and vax" sessions. These included door-to-door services, and were overseen by a registered nurse provided by Taranaki District Health Board. Ngarewa-Packer became trained in delivering vaccinations. The initiative followed low vaccination rates for Taranaki MÃÂori; vaccination rates later rose for this population which Ngarewa-Packer attributed to MÃÂori-led work, saying "WeâÂÂve borrowed the MÃÂori Party campervan, and weâÂÂve been hitting the streets doing it our way... ThereâÂÂs a lot of fear. TheyâÂÂre not anti-vax, just scared. And we have to respect that." At one event Niel Packer, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer's husband, was punched in the face by a man angry at the vaccination program.
In August 2021, she called for "serious consequences" for those breaking lockdown, saying that New Zealand "[does] not have the health capacity to deal with Delta".
Ngarewa-Packer condemned a plan to gradually ease lockdown restrictions in Auckland that was announced in October 2021. She noted at the time that only 56 percent of eligible MÃÂori had received any COVID-19 vaccination compared to 79 percent of all eligible people in New Zealand, and said the plan showed âÂÂMÃÂori were always expendableâ and that "this was never a [vaccination] strategy designed to include tangata whenua".
In 2021, Ngarewa-Packer criticised the National Party's "Demand The Debate" campaign, saying it fuelled racism. "They knew exactly what they were doing when they started this latest campaign,â she said, "I can tell you the day, the hour, the minute it went from being 18 threats a week to 30 to 40 a night. It was after National started criticising the MÃÂori health authority, and then the He Puapua report.â She noted cases of harassment and death threats from far-right activists to MÃÂori women, which had been escalating, and has called for a joint task force to investigate anti-MÃÂori hate speech.
In the 2023 general election, Ngarewa-Packer again stood in Te Tai HauÃÂuru. She received 16,358 electorate votes, defeating the Labour candidate Soraya Peke-Mason by a margin of 9,162 votes. Overall, Te PÃÂti MÃÂori captured six of the seven MÃÂori electorates during the 2023 election.
In mid-December 2023, Ngarewa-Packer retained her position as Te PÃÂti MÃÂori co-leader and joined Parliament's health select committee. She also assumed the party's health, climate change, environment, energy & resources, TakatÃÂpui, digital economy, Accident Compensation Corporation, immigration, Pacific Peoples, human rights, and technology spokesperson portfolios.
During the Gaza war, Ngarewa Packer defended Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick's controversial "From the river to the sea" statement and urged the care-taker Labour Government to call for an "end to war crimes." Te PÃÂti MÃÂori also advocated the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador Ran Yaakoby if Israel did not implement a ceasefire or open a humanitarian corridor in Gaza.
In opposition, Ngarewa-Packer disagreed with the National-led coalition government's repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022. After Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier rebuked the Associate Health Minister Casey Costello withholding official Information Act requests for documents relating to the Government's tobacco policies, she called for a full inquiry into the Government's tobacco reform actions, alleging that Costello withheld information when pushing through the Smokefree repeal legislation under urgency.
In mid November 2024, Ngarewa-Packer and her Te PÃÂti MÃÂori colleagues opposed David Seymour's controversial Treaty Principles Bill, which proposed a constitutional overhaul of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. She along with Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Rawiri Waititi and Labour MP Peeni Henare performed an impromptu haka (Ka Mate) which disrupted the bill's first reading. On 10 December 2024, House Speaker Gerry Brownlee referred Ngarewa-Packer and her three colleagues to the Privileges Committee for disrupting parliamentary proceedings and for behaviour which could have the effect of "intimidation". Ngarewa-Packer was specifically named for moving towards the ACT party's seats and making a gesture that they described as firing a "finger gun". Te PÃÂti MÃÂori defended their actions, accusing Parliament of demonizing MÃÂori.
On 1 April 2025, Ngarewa-Packer, Waititi and Maipi-Clarke declined to appear before the Privileges Committee, claiming they had been denied key legal rights such as a joint hearing, restrictions on their legal representation Christopher Finlayson, expert testimony from tikanga (MÃÂori culture) expert TÃÂ Pou Temara denied, hearing scheduling conflicts being ignored and concerns about disciplinary action against Maipi-Clarke. On 2 April, the Privileges Committee's chairperson Judith Collins confirmed that the privileges hearing would proceed regardless of whether the three TPM MPs turned up. In response, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi announced that they would boycott the hearing and hold their own "alternative independent hearing," denouncing the Privileges Committee as a "kangaroo court."
On 14 May 2025, the Privileges Committee censured Ngarewa-Packer and her two colleagues for "acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House in the discharge of their duty" during the haka protest. She and Waititi were suspended from Parliament for 21 days while Maipi-Clarke was suspended for a week. Te PÃÂti MÃÂori issued a statement denouncing the verdict as "the worst punishment handed down ever in our history." On 20 May 2025, Parliament adopted Leader of the House Chris Bishop's motion that the parliamentary debate on the three MPs' suspension be delayed until 5 June, allowing them to participate in the budget debate on 22 May. On 5 June, parliament voted to suspend Maipi-Clarke for seven days, and Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi for 21 days.
A RNZ-Reid Research poll found that, a majority supported the punishment or thought it should be stronger. 37.0% said it was "about right"; 17.2% said it was "too lenient", and 36.2% said it was "too harsh".
In early December 2024, Ngarewa-Packer advocated capital gains taxation, claiming that the Government could raise NZ$200 billion from such a tax over six years. She based her figures on remarks made by journalist Bernard Hickey during a debate with ACT leader David Seymour. Ngarewa-Packer's assertion was disputed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who likened them to Soviet economic policies, and Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen, who described Ngarewa-Packer's figure as "absolutely daft."
Following the passage of the National Government's Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Act 2025 (MACA) into law on 21 October 2025, Ngarewa-Packer and fellow Te PÃÂti MÃÂori MP TÃÂkuta Ferris posted a social media video of themselves burning a copy of the legislation on the grounds of Parliament. The MACA legislation raises the threshold for MÃÂori making claims to ancestral titles on foreshore and seabed. In response, Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee rebuked the two MPs and said he was "currently taking advice". Ngarewa-Packer defended her actions by accusing the Speaker of holding Te PÃÂti MÃÂori to a higher standard than he did other parties including ACT leader David Seymour, who had driven a Land Rover up the steps of Parliament in February 2025.
Ngarewa-Packer affiliates with the NgÃÂti Ruahine, NgÃÂruahine, and NgàRauru iwi. She is a descendant of Tutange Waionui of NgÃÂti Ruanui, who fought alongside Tëtokowaru during the New Zealand Wars and claimed credit for killing the mercenary, Gustavus von Tempsky. She also has Irish ancestry through her mother.
Ngarewa-Packer was a nominee for the Taranaki Daily News person of the year in 2018.
In mid-December 2024, Ngarewa-Packer was allegedly verbally abused and intimidated by a middle-aged European (PÃÂkehÃÂ) man while visiting a Whanganui petrol station. In response, Te PÃÂti MÃÂori denounced the incident as a "hate crime," filed a Police complaint and sought extra security and protection for its MPs from the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives and Parliamentary Services.
In mid February 2025, Ngarewa-Packer visited the Cook Islands for her 30th wedding anniversary. On 17 February, she attended a protest against Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown's recent strategic partnership with China and abortive Cook Islands passport proposal, which were seen as damaging Cook IslandsâÂÂNew Zealand relations. Ngarewa-Packer expressed agreement with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters about the Cook Islands government's lack of consultation on the controversial partnership agreement.
On 20 October 2025, The New Zealand Herald reported that Ngarewa-Packer had failed to declare two properties under the New Zealand Parliament's transparency rules. In response, she stated that she would update Parliament's register of financial interests about her assets but also alleged that she was being targeted by the media because of her MÃÂori ethnicity.
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