In the 2002 election, Tamihere contested the newly formed Tamaki Makaurau electorate, which he won with 73 percent of the vote. He gained the second-highest majority in a Māori electorate, exceeded only by that of Parekura Horomia, the Minister of Māori Affairs. Tamihere was appointed to Cabinet in 2002. He served as Minister of Small Business, Minister of Youth Affairs, Minister of Statistics, and Minister for Land Information, as well as functioning as Horomia's deputy as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs until 2004.