Tania Tapsell

Tania Tapsell is a New Zealand politician. She has served on the Rotorua Lakes District Council since 2013.

Tania Tapsell
Rotorua Lakes District Councillor
Assumed office
12 October 2013
Personal details
Born1991/1992 (age 29–30)[1]
Rotorua, New Zealand
Political partyNational
Spouse(s)Kanin Clancy
RelationsPeter Tapsell (great-uncle)
Alma materUniversity of Waikato

Early life

Tapsell was born and raised in Rotorua. She attended Rotorua Girls' High School but left at age 16 in order to attend Waiariki Institute of Technology, where she got diplomas in business and marketing.[1][2] She achieved a Bachelor of Management Studies Degree from the University of Waikato.[3]

Political career

At age 14, Tapsell served on Rotorua's youth council. In 2010, she was selected by Todd McClay to represent the Rotorua electorate at the New Zealand Youth Parliament.[1]

In 2013, Tapsell was elected to the Rotorua Lakes District Council.[1] At 21, she was the youngest councillor ever elected,[2] until the election of 19 year old Fisher Wang in 2019.[4] In 2016 and 2019 she was re-elected as the highest polling candidate.[5] During the 2019 election, Tapsell accused mayoral candidate Reynold MacPherson of hate speech after a Facebook post comparing her to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The council made a formal complaint to the police, which was criticised by the Free Speech Coalition as a violation of the bill of rights.[6] She voted against the adoption of Māori wards in 2021, arguing that while some councils may need them to ensure representation, Rotorua did not.[7]

Tapsell marched with students during the School Strike for Climate in 2019,[8] however she believes farmers should be excluded from the Zero Carbon Act.[9]

On 6 June 2020, Tapsell was selected as the National Party candidate for the East Coast electorate,[3] having been a member of the party since she was a teen.[10] At the 2020 general election, she failed to retain the seat for National, losing to Labour MP Kiri Allan.[11] She expressed interest in running again at the next general election.[12] She was speculated by the media as a possible candidate in the 2022 Tauranga by-election,[13] but declined.[14]

Personal life

Tapsell married Kanin Clancy on 1 December 2020.[15] Her iwi are Te Rarawa and Ngāti Whakaue, and she has Danish ancestry as a descendent of Phillip Tapsell.[16][17] She is the great niece of former Labour MP and Speaker of the House Sir Peter Tapsell.[1]

References
  1. "Young face at the council table". University of Waikato. 16 October 2013.
  2. Taipari, Greg (10 December 2013). "Te Maori: Another brick in success wall". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  3. "Tania Tapsell National's new candidate for East Coast". New Zealand National Party. 6 June 2020.
  4. Bathgate, Benn (12 October 2019). "19-year-old Rotorua councillor' stunned by election result". Stuff.
  5. Tyson, Jessica (8 June 2020). "Tapsell felt a moral obligation to step forward as National candidate". Te Ao Māori News.
  6. Makiha, Kelly (27 May 2019). "'Hate speech' row erupts after Rotorua councillor Tania Tapsell compared to the Pied Piper". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  7. Desmarais, Felix (21 May 2021). "Rotorua Lakes Council adopts Māori wards". RNZ.
  8. Sparks, Zizi (16 March 2019). "Rotorua students leave school to strike for climate change". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  9. Wrigley, Wynsley (20 August 2020). "Meet the candidates". The Gisborne Herald.
  10. Braae, Alex (16 August 2020). "The youngest in the room: Meet National's 28-year-old East Coast candidate". The Spinoff.
  11. Sparks, Zizi (17 October 2020). "Election 2020: National's Tania Tapsell loses East Coast electorate". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  12. "Bells ring for Tapsell campaign close". Waatea News. 21 October 2020.
  13. Edwards, Bryce (16 March 2022). "Behind Simon Bridges' shock departure, and what comes next". Stuff.
  14. "Head of Māori Authority Matthew Tukaki and Rotorua councillor Tania Tapsell clash over co-governance". Newshub. 31 March 2022.
  15. Makiha, Kelly (5 June 2021). "Rotorua district councillor Tania Tapsell weds Kanin Clancy in secret mountain-top wedding". New Zealand Herald.
  16. Ogden, Gavin (29 September 2020). "Local Focus: Who is Tania Tapsell, National candidate for East Coast?". New Zealand Herald.
  17. "Tapsell whanau's Danish story revealed". Waatea News. 6 May 2021.
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