Marama Fox

They called her "the Foxy Lady," and just a few weeks after entering Parliament, Masterton mother-of-nine Marama Fox almost brought down her party's government.

"They called her 'the Foxy Lady.'" - Morgan Godfery, host of Matangireia

Watch the video version of the episode here

Former Māori Party co-leader and list MP Marama Fox was never one to do things in half-measures.

In 2014, only a few weeks after entering Parliament, the Masterton mother-of-nine almost brought down her party's government, accidentally opposing a confidence motion in the incoming government her party was a part of, after receiving the wrong advice from an official.

The opposition benches were in raptures.

"I could see all these cameras going click, click, click, click, click, so I quickly sent out a tweet and said, 'I just about brought down the government. Oops,'" she told Morgan Godfery.

Moments later, Fox stood to make a point of order, correcting her vote and casting two votes against the no-confidence motion.

The government had the numbers, and from 2014 to 2017, Fox was closely involved in key reforms going "down to the wire" over reforms to the old Child, Youth and Family agency.

It was Fox and her co-leader colleague Te Ururoa Flavell who helped ensure that "Vulnerable" was removed from the new agency's name.

But perhaps the most intense pressure came during negotiations to amend the Resource Management Act, a process that took the National government almost eight years to see through.

In 2017, National were keen to move and put their reforms to a vote in the House, but Fox wouldn't guarantee her party's support until iwi were given a greater say in the consent process.

"Tuku was going, 'Marama, sign it,'" Fox said.

"I'm on the back of my horse, in the middle of the paddock, getting phone calls for nine hours from everybody trying to get me to sign it. I said, 'I won't.'"

Fox's tenacity helped the party secure the changes it wanted, and they eventually voted in favour of the reform bill.

Fox credits her mother, an early childhood educator, for "politicising" her. Growing up in Christchurch, the MP-to-be "went to some of the flashest schools" in town.

She recalls one the early lessons her mother taught her.

"I needed to be better than my best. literally sat me down and said, 'Marama, you're Māori, you're a young woman, and you're at the bottom of every statistic in this country.''…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details