Tukaki is of Ngāi Te Rangi descent and has strong tribal affiliations with Matakana Island, which is off the coast of the city of Tauranga in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty.
Tukaki has been active in his support for business and industry to play a larger role when it comes to sustainable development and the United Nations Post 2015 Agenda.
In an interview with Radio New Zealand in September 2013, Tukaki indicated a strong desire for business to play a primary role in developing technological advances as a way to solve some of the "big challenges of our time".
The reform led to a range of initiatives being developed, such as a new collaborative fundraising framework, deeper engagement with transnational and multinational corporations, and a frontier fund to help United Nations Global Compact Networks with material and financial support.
This new agenda began to emerge across a number of fronts including suicide prevention, homelessness and the affordability of life-extending and life-saving drugs for Māori.
On 29 September 2021, Tukaki was joined by New Zealand Minister for Children, Kelvin Davis, for the release of the report into the child protection system,[10] called Kahu Aroha.
[11] The Government accepted all the recommendations in the report and announced that the board that Tukaki chairs (with members Dame Naida Glavish, Sir Mark Solomon and former Chief Social Worker, Shannon Pakura) would monitor their implementation.
Software business patents dispute: In 2003, Tukaki courted controversy and widespread support when he joined with Senator John Tierney in what was described as a battle of common sense[12][13] with American company DE Technologies.
Tukaki and Senator Tierney challenged the patent holder to show cause and credibility of why they were targeting Australian companies for a percentage of the transaction value of payments made over the internet.
In 2010, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that employers were more concerned about skill shortages in some professions and that the "usual December slowdown had failed to arrive".
"[15] Throughout 2010 and into 2011, the cautious approach of looking at where jobs were being created and the changing dynamic of the labour market led Tukaki to become known as one of the most influential employment figures in the region.