Politicians across the country are paying tribute to Te Pāti Māori co-founder, leader and long-serving MP Dame Tariana Turia following her death.

Turia passed away in the early hours of this morning, aged 80.

Turia served as a minister under both Labour and National Governments and was an MP for 18 years.

The wāhine Māori political leader first entered Parliament as a Labour list MP in 1996, a year after leading the 79-day Moutua Gardens protest in Whanganui.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Turia had made a “significant contribution” to New Zealand.

Former politician Peter Dunne spoke to Newstalk ZB about the passing of his former “parliamentary benchmate” Turia.

“She was certainly a highly principled person and had a huge sense of what was right and wrong.

“She was able to achieve a lot through that time as a minister.”

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper spoke to Newstalk ZB’s Roman Travers about Turia’s time in parliament and determination for the “betterment of Māori”.

“She was a woman with a great sense of humour, quite a wicked sense of humour. I shared quite a number of laughs with her over the years,” Soper said.

“She was very much a force to be reckoned with in parliament.”

Former Attorney General and ex-Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson saw her as his favourite politician.

In a prior interview with the Herald, Finlayson said “it’s no exaggeration to say I love her”.

During her tenure in Parliament, Turia was responsible for the creation of wellbeing agency Whānau Ora, something she has later admitted she feels a sense of pride about.

She retired from politics in 2014.

Tariana Turia was made Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services as a Member of Parliament in the 2015 New Year Honours list. Photo / Stuart Munro

Turia was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as an MP, in the 2015 New Year Honours.

At the time, Turia considered turning down the honour.

“In the first instance I thought I might not take it but they [her whānau] said it’s not really for me, it’s for our whānau, hapū and iwi - for all the people I have worked alongside,” she said.

When a Treaty of Waitangi settlement gave the Whanganui River legal personhood, Turia was appointed to act as its voice in a move she labelled “the most important role of my life”.