He credits people like Muhammad Ali, Syd Jackson, Nelson Mandela, Māori Marsden, his mother and his wife for teaching him "the need for strength, commitment, wisdom and vision".

In 1979 Harawira was part of He Taua, which confronted drunk University of Auckland engineering students who performed a parody of the "Ka Mate" haka with obscenities painted on their bodies.

He was a key participant in He Taua, the 1981 Springbok tour protests, and the 2004 foreshore and seabed hīkoi, the last of which led to him entering parliament.

He claimed that the political science student, Steve Baron, was a racist who "lumped Māori in with other minorities like homosexuals and Asians.....He tried it on and he got his comeuppance.

Following his return from Europe, in November 2009, Hawawira was asked to repay some travel costs after skipping a taxpayer-funded conference in Brussels to go sightseeing in Paris.

White motherf***ers have been raping our lands and ripping us off for centuries and all of a sudden you want me to play along with their puritanical bullshit.... And, quite frankly, I don't give a shit what you or anyone else thinks about it.

"[17] Harawira later said that Labour Party leader Phil Goff was a "bastard" and "should be lined up against a wall and shot" for passing the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

"[19] Ngāpuhi activist[20] David Rankin said Harawira was "playing the race card every time he wants to 'create a smoke screen for other issues'".

"[24][25] In contrast, Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples said Harawira's comments probably reflected the views of many people and were not racist.

[29] On 7 February 2011 Harawira was suspended from the Māori Party caucus, with a statement by Turia and Sharples saying they had lost faith in him after five years of ill-discipline.

Harawira responded to criticisms that a by-election would be "a ridiculous publicity stunt mainly about the tens of thousands of dollars he stands to gain if he returns to Parliament as a party leader,"[35] and that it would cost New Zealand taxpayers $500,000, by arguing for the need to receive a fresh mandate from the people of Te Tai Tokerau, saying that "It's hardly an expense in terms of democracy.

[43] Harawira's resignation from parliament as an independent MP on 11 May 2011, effective 21 May, caused a by-election in his Te Tai Tokerau constituency.

[48] On 8 November 2012, his private member's bill to provide free breakfast and lunches for all children in decile 1 and 2 schools in New Zealand was drawn from the ballot.

[52] He helped to lead protests against the privatisation of state-owned electricity companies and joined locked out meatworkers on their union picket line.

[53][54] On 12 October 2012, Harawira was arrested while peacefully protesting against the demolition of state houses in the Auckland suburb of Glen Innes.

His full statement was "Time John Key realised a few home truths like (1) he can tell his little house niggers what to do, but (2) the rest of us don't give a shit for him or his opinions!

In an interview with Rawdon Christie, Harawira defended his statement saying that New Zealand "needed to mature" and that he would not be the first or the last person in the country to use the n-word.

[58] Harawira had previously used the n-word in an address to the chamber on 6 November 2007, saying that the United States military had previously operated under the motto "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" and the current American-led War on Terror was under the new motto "The only good sand nigger is a dead sand nigger".

In February 2017 the Māori Party had announced it would not stand a candidate against Harawira in a bid to regain the seat from Labour's Kelvin Davis.

[64][65][66] During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, Harawira led efforts with local iwi (tribes) to set up roadblocks preventing tourists from travelling into the Far North District.

[69] In late January 2021, Harawira and local Northland iwi established a checkpoint at Waiomio Hill but police shut it down because there was no official requirement for it, and because of road safety concerns.