An awesome day to be alive - that's how Mana Party leader Hone Harawira greeted news Prime Minister John Key is resigning.
Mr Key's shock announcement on Monday that he would be stepping down as the country's leader as of next Monday caught most by surprise, with accolades and tributes flowing.
Mr Harawira said Mr Key was a great Prime Minister - but only for the rich.
"The Dakota Access Pipeline [highlighted by the Standing Rock protests in the US] has been stopped, the Prime Minister has resigned, and the Warriors are coming to Kaitaia ... so it's an awesome day to be alive," Mr Harawira said on hearing the news of the resignation.
"Look, John Key has been a great leader ... for the rich, but I doubt that those living in car cases, caravan parks and cold, damp houses will be shedding a tear anytime soon.
''And in case people haven't noticed, Maori have also suffered massive setbacks in housing, employment, justice, corrections, education and welfare during his time."
Mr Harawira said the only Maori who will mourn Mr Key's passing are those who clipped the ticket during his reign - "those who reaped the benefits of Treaty settlements and corporate success, but did nothing to lift their own people from the mire of welfare despondency, drug-fuelled violence and suicide".
"In fact it's difficult to think of a time in New Zealand's recent history when so much has been done for so few, by taking so much from so many," he said.
"I don't buy the line about John Key's legacy being marked by economic stability and an increased profile on the international stage, because I see where it has come from - off the backs of those who could least afford it, te pani me te rawakore, the poor and the dispossessed.
"I wish him well with his future and I hope his family get more time with him, but most of all I wish us all strength in overcoming the mindset that only the rich should matter in life."