Jason Walls: Newstalk ZB Political Editor on the death of Te Pati Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Jun 26, 2025 · 2m · transcript

There'll be a by-election in Auckland in the coming weeks, following the death of Te Pati Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp early yesterday.

She was 50 and had been battling kidney disease.

Kemp's body has arrived at Hoani Waititi Marae this morning, where she will lie in state for mourners to visit, before her tangi on Tuesday.

Newstalk ZB’s Jason Walls told Ryan Bridge it’s almost certain Labour’s Peeni Henare will run for the seat, and would be likely to win.

He says Te Pati Maori would need to find a new candidate and would be hard pressed to find someone with better name recognition than…