Willie Jackson

William Wakatere Jackson (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician and former broadcaster and Urban Māori chief executive. He was an Alliance MP from 1999 to 2002, and in 2017 was elected as a Labour MP. Early life Jackson was born in 1961 to June Jackson and Bob Jackson. He has both Māori and Pākehā ancestry. He grew up in Porirua and Māngere. In his teenage years Jackson attended Mangere College. He has worked in a number of jobs, including trade union organiser, record company executive, broadcaster, talkback radio host and urban Māori advocate. He worked at Aotearoa Radio as Radio Host. He was also the manager for the ground-breaking band 'Moana and the Moahunters' throughout the 1980s and '90s. Political life In 1995, Jackson joined the Mana Motuhake party, a Māori party which formed part of the Alliance. In the 1996 election, he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament. In the 1999 election, however, he was elected as an Alliance list MP. In 2001, Jackson successfully challenged Mana Motuhake leader Sandra Lee for the leadership of the party.