Harete (Whanganui, Ngāti Apa, Ngā Rauru) served six years as a Member of Parliament in the 52nd & 53rd NZ Parliaments. Prior to that she served as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand for 25 years which included court litigation, mediation, tribunal work and legal advocacy/representation specialising in criminal, family, children & young persons/youth, mental health law. She also has a broad range of experience & service in community affairs & governance. Harete has a lifetime involvement and interest in sport, including her own participation as a multi provincial age-group and franchise representative netballer, competition coaching, managing, event organising in netball & as parent support in age group rugby, tennis, athletics and New Zealand Junior & USA College national rowing. Harete maintains a regular fitness regime of gym workouts & running. She has competed in NZ Masters netball over the decades and more recently in the 10km run (60-64yrs) in February 2025 also completing her first half marathon at NZ Iron Māori (60—64yrs) in November 2024. She was delighted to simply complete the events (and stunned that they were also medalled golden moments for her!) Harete continues to follow and support New Zealand sport and athletes with keen interest.
Commenced: 15 July 2024
Potential conflicts: No current conflicts identified.
Update (9 July 2026): Ms Hipango-Brownlie has confirmed to the Tribunal that she is standing as a candidate for New Zealand First at the upcoming election. Ms Hipango-Brownlie remains a member of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand. However, the Tribunal is an independent and politically neutral decision-making body for sport. To ensure that the impartiality and the integrity of Tribunal processes are maintained, Ms Hipango-Brownlie has indicated that she will recuse herself from any Tribunal panels to which she is currently assigned (if any) and will not sit on any panels for the duration of her New Zealand First candidacy. Furthermore, she has also indicated that she will resign from the Tribunal if she is elected to Parliament.