Labour mourns the loss of Dr Ranginui Walker
Ko te papa e hora nei kua tarehua. E mihi ana ki te whenua e tangi ana ki te tangata. He tai papaki ki waho o Rehua, he
tai mihinga tangata, he tai mate hoki. E te tohunga o te whakaiti. E te Ahorangi o te matauranga kua maunu to waka. Kua
papā te kakau o to hoe ki te hīpapa o to waka tīwaiwai nō reira haere atu rā koe ki Hawaiki I whakataukitia ai e o tātou
tūpuna. Nō reira haere e te kawa tūnuku, tūrangi, tūpapa I tu ai a Tane.
The Labour Party Maori Caucus joins the country in expressing our great sadness at the loss of esteemed Māori leader and
academic Dr Ranginui Walker and our sympathies to his family.
“His contribution to academia, education and politics has been without peer and stands as a truly great New Zealander.
In almost all debates on the future of Maori, he has been a towering voice,” said Kelvin Davis, Leader of Labour’s Maori
Caucus.
“As a member of New Zealand Māori Council and in his many other roles Dr Walker fought tirelessly for Maori for decades.
“All of us in Labour will mourn his passing and his leadership will inspire another generation to step up and fill the
hole he has left.
“He was a leader, a thinker and a figher. He was also humble in his service. That’s how he should be remembered,” said
Kelvin Davis.
ends