Labour leader David Cunliffe is refusing to reveal who made the decision to rule the Maori Party out of a Labour government after several Labour MPs confirmed the decision had taken them by surprise.
Mr Cunliffe said it was a "collective decision" but would not say who had made it or if his front bench or campaign committee had known he intended to make that decision.
"We don't talk about our internal processes like that. We are very comfortable with the position we've got.
"We've had good collective discussions about it but it's not for me to go into the internal processes."
He said no MPs had raised concerns with him, Labour's Maori caucus was happy with it and he stood by the decision.