Carrie Stoddart-SmithCarrie Stoddart-Smith

Carrie Stoddart-Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is a Principal Trade and Economies Consultant at Opinio Native Aotearoa, a consultancy she founded in January 2020, to honour indigenous knowledge by creating an environment that celebrates an liberates indigenous voices globally. She ran for the Māori Party in the electorate of Pakuranga in the 2017 general election.

Nanaia Mahuta’s appointment returns ancestral legacy to foreign policy

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As the first Māori woman to hold one of our government’s most pre-eminent posts, the appointment of Nanaia Mahuta to Minister of Foreign Affairs evoked mixed reactions. However, it’s a role she’s prepared for longer than you think, writes Carrie Stoddart-Smith for RNZ. For many, her appointment signalled the advancement of the progressive and inclusive … Read more

My beloved Māori Party has let me down with its immigration policy

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After meeting yesterday to address its unpopular policy that called for immigration to be halted, the Māori Party has made some concessions. It still isn’t good enough, writes former candidate Carrie Stoddart-Smith. Like most people who become a core base supporter of a political party, we each have our story of why. Sometimes our story … Read more

Let’s not sacrifice charter schools for Māori to an ideological war

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An education system must work for all. Let’s deal with the issues rather than wholesale abandon the Kura Hourua concept, argues Carrie Stoddart-Smith. There is a saying that policy is a contact sport. Never has that been truer than when it comes to education. In particular, when it comes to feelings about Kura Hourua (charter … Read more

The phrase ‘Māori tribal elite’ really tells you something – about the person using it

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The debate around concessions negotiated by the Māori Party in the resource management bill has seen the ‘Māori tribal elite’ slur rears its head again. It is all part of a long history, writes Carrie Stoddart-Smith, of attempts to colonise tangata whenua. Kōtahi te kākaho ka whati, ina kapuia, e kore e whati. A lone reed will … Read more

On whanaungatanga, and how I startled myself by contemplating a vote for Bill English

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The National leader’s mana-enhancing approach was as impressive as the Labour leader’s ‘not kaupapa’ outburst was depressing, says Carrie Stoddart-Smith. Bewitched by a glass (or two) of smooth red merlot, intoxicated by the ambience of festoon lights nestled among the grapevines in the Hawkes Bay, I sputtered out to the universe (via Twitter) that I … Read more