Taitoa Wihone ( né Luke Leon Taitoa Wijohn; [1] born 25 February 2002) is a New Zealand environmental activist and political candidate.
Wihone was born on 25 February 2002. [2] He is of Māori descent. His iwi are Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tūhoe, and Te Rarawa. [3] He attended Māori immersion class at Richmond Road School and later attended Western Springs College, where he was captain of the hockey team. [4] [5] His mother Elisa Lavelle Wijohn was a breast cancer advocate until her death in 2022. [6] [7] [8]
In 2017, Wihone volunteered on Julie Anne Genter's election campaign. In 2019, he helped lead the School Strike for Climate in Auckland, with a turnout of 80,000. [5] He accepted the Ambassador of Conscience Award on behalf of the movement. [9]
Wihone was selected by Chlöe Swarbrick for the 2019 New Zealand Youth Parliament. During general debate, he moved for the Youth Parliament to declare a climate emergency. The motion was passed in two minutes. Wihone and 78 other Youth MPs signed an open letter to their adult counterparts urging them to also declare a climate emergency. [10] [11]
In August 2019, Wihone and 13 other teenagers received a one year ban from parliament grounds by Speaker Trevor Mallard for singing " Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi" and flying the Tino Rangatiratanga flag in the public gallery in support of the protests at Ihumātao. [12]
Wihone was selected in February 2020 to contest Mount Albert in the 2020 New Zealand general election. Of several teen candidates, he was the youngest, turning 18 less than 8 months from the election. As with most Green Party candidates, he was campaigning primarily for the party vote. [5] He was placed 18th on the party list. In the election he came third with 5.56% of the vote, and his list placement was not high enough to enter parliament. [13] [14]
On 27 August 2021, while under COVID-19 lockdown, Wihone observed the police in Wellington arresting a man and made a video of it. The police threatened to arrest him. [15]
Wihone encouraged Swarbrick to challenge party co-leader James Shaw in the 2022 Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand co-leadership election, but she declined. [16]
Wihone supports lowering the voting age and improving civics education in schools. [2] [17] He supports a wealth tax and cannabis legalisation. [4] [18]