She is believed to be the third female writer of Māori origin to be published, following Patricia Grace, whose collection of short stories Waiariki published in 1975 by Penguin Books, and Vernice Wineera who has published several works of poetry since 1976.
The area of Whakarewarewa near Rotorua is also known as Waiariki due to the abundance of geothermal features in the area.
Ririnui was originally elected to Parliament as the MP for the Māori electorate of Waiariki, winning the 1999 elections from Tuariki Delamere.