Robati was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands in the
1965 election as an independent representing the district of Rakahanga. He was re-elected in
the 1968 election, and in 1972 he joined the newly created
Democratic Party. He was re-elected in eight more general elections as a candidate for the Democratic Party. During his 18 months as Prime Minister, the
Parliament of the Cook Islands enacted a constitutional amendment that added a preamble to the
constitution which recognised the "heritage of Christian principles" in the Cook Islands and declared that the people of the Cook Islands "remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day, being the day of the week, which, according to a person's belief and conscience, is the Sabbath of the Lord." The defeat of the Democratic Party in the
election of 1989 ended Robati's tenure as Prime Minister. From 2001 to 2004, he was the
Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament. In
the 2004 election, Robati lost his seat to the independent candidate
Piho Rua. The election was later subject to an unsuccessful electoral petition. This defeat marked the end of its political career. At the time of his defeat, he was the longest serving Cook Islands MP. Robati was a
boxer, and in 1944 was the Cook Islands' champion
bantamweight boxer. He was the chair of the Cook Islands' federation of amateur boxing for more than 30 years. ==Recognition==