parliament birth_place constituency_mp nationality party birth_date term_start image article_title name
new zealand waitara kelston new zealand labour yes 1977 21 september 2014 carmel sepuloni cropped.jpg carmel sepuloni
 carmel sepuloni
carmel sepuloni

carmel jean sepuloni -lrb- born 1977 -rrb- is a new zealand politician and a member of parliament for the labour party .
she was first elected to parliament following the 2008 general election as a list member , becoming new zealand 's first mp of tongan descent .
in the 2011 general election , sepuloni won the seat of waitakere on the official count with an eleven-vote majority over incumbent national mp paula bennett , who subsequently requested a judicial recount , which resulted in sepuloni losing her seat in parliament .
she returned to parliament in 2014 as the member for kelston .
