Te Pāti Māori co-leaders have been kicked out of Parliament’s debating chamber after conducting a pōwhiri without permission of all parties to symbolically welcome Meka Whaitiri. Video / NZ Herald / Parliament TV
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders have been kicked out of Parliament’s debating chamber after conducting a pōwhiri without permission of all parties to symbolically welcome Meka Whaitiri, who recently resigned from Labour.
Whaitiri returned today as an independent MP after her shock resignation from Labour last week.
Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer made a point of order and performed a karanga as Rawiri Waititi led Whaitiri into the House, singing a waiata along with supporters in the public gallery.
Meka Whaitiri about to enter the debating chamber with Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi at 2pm. Photo / Michael Neilson
Whaitiri entered the chamber and sat in Waititi’s seat, with Waititi taking Whaitiri’s new place. It occurred as speeches were taking place about King Charles III’s coronation, initiated by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
Speaker Adrian Rurawhe stood during the waiata but did not intervene.
Afterwards, he said Te Pāti Māori had informed him this morning they had received permission from all parties - as required - to conduct a pōwhiri for Whaitiri. But he said he was later told by some parties that was not the case.
“Given it happened anyway, I have limited ability to address it except Rawiri Waititi will leave the chamber and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer will leave the chamber as well.”
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Ngarewa-Packer said they believed they had received permission and it looked like parties had since changed their minds.
“We did go and seek permission, we got advice that they were okay. And things had changed.”
She said they were “asserting our tikanga”.
National Party MP and Shadow Leader of the House Michael Woodhouse said the prospect of a karakia being performed had been mentioned to the party by Waititi but no permission had been sought nor given.
Waititi told reporters they were “clearing out a clear pathway” for Whaitiri to sit in the opposite benches, “to move there with the mind in her own words to be liberated”.
Waititi said Parliament had not treated wāhine Māori well in the past, including Whaitiri and former Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, who was also making her debut in the House as an independent MP.
“This place is not a safe place for our people. Hence we do things our way and make sure they’re looked after.”
Whaitiri later said she was “pleased to have joined a party that enables the voice of wāhine Māori to be heard not censured in this House”.
She said it was “not an easy decision” to cross the floor to Te Pāti Māori.
“But for my whānau and I, it was the right decision. It is time to put our whakapapa first, to return to our people, to serve and work for our people, the calling that comes deep from within my puku.”
Meka Whaitiri speaks in the House at Parliament on Tuesday as an independent MP for the first time. Photo / Marty Melville
While Whaitiri intends to run for Te Pāti Māori in this year’s election in the Ikaroa Rāwhiti electorate, which she held for Labour since 2013, she cannot officially switch parties and must sit as an independent MP until the election.
Whaitiri’s first media stand-up on shock resignation
Ahead of entering the House, Whaitiri held her first media stand-up since her resignation last Wednesday.
Asked if she had any regrets about the way her resignation was announced, without telling any of her colleagues, Whaitiri said she had consulted her “trusted sources” including her whānau.
Asked if it was an “affront to Labour”, she replied: “Not to Māori”.
On the timing of the announcement and if she planned to do it so suddenly, Whaitiri said after she had talked to her whānau she had informed the president of the Labour Party.
She did not address questions about if the announcement was rushed.
Whaitiri said she was joining a party that does not “censor the voice of wāhine Māori”.
“I am joining a party that enables the voice of wāhine Māori to be heard, for our people to celebrate being Māori, unashamedly Māori.”
Asked if there were any specific policies she took issue with, Whaitiri said Māori MPs had to make a “lot of compromises” and she was ready to “close that chapter”.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. Photo / Marty Melville
Whaitiri had represented Ikaroa Rāwhiti for the past 10 years as a Labour MP. Asked what she could do differently with Te Pāti Māori, Whaitiri said the electorate was still at the “wrong end” of many social statistics.
“We’ve got some really neat, innovative solutions. So I’m going to bring both issues, as well as the solutions by Māori, for Māori.”
Whaitiri said her decision to switch parties had been a “journey for a while”.
She said it was not she who approached Te Pāti Māori, but that was a “conversation for the party to answer”.
Co-chair of Labour’s Māori caucus Willow-Jean Prime said she was shocked by the initial news and disagreed with Whaitiri’s assertions about the experiences of Māori in Labour.
“That’s certainly not been my experience within the Labour Party.
“I am proudly Māori. I have always been able to voice my opinions and push for the things that are important to my communities.
“I am proudly the co-chair of the Labour Party caucus alongside of Willie Jackson and really proud of our team’s achievements.”
Situation earlier in the day
Earlier, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Labour wouldn’t block Whaitiri’s bid to make a statement in Parliament after leaving her party of 10 years and siding with Te Pāti Māori.
Members of Labour’s Māori caucus, while still reeling from her sudden departure, said they would support her doing so, but objected to the “grandstanding” nature of Te Pāti Māori’s plans to symbolically welcome her back to her “whakapapa”.
Whaitiri made her first public statement this afternoon since her resignation last week before taking questions from media in her first major public appearance since the announcement.
Whaitiri then entered the debating chamber at Parliament as an independent MP ahead of Question Time.
MPs could have objected to Whaitiri’s bid to make a personal statement.
Hipkins said he would not be blocking her attempt to do so.
“Ultimately, I’m sort of a bit traditional in the sense that I believe if people want to make a personal statement to Parliament, generally, they should have the opportunity to do that.”
He said he was not worried about what she might have to say.
National MP and Shadow Leader of the House Michael Woodhouse said the “convention” was that personal statements were not blocked.
“Well, I’ve seen the media reports that say there’s going to be a personal explanation from the Honorable Meka Whaitiri. If she does that, I hope that includes the tabling of certain correspondence.
“The convention is that personal explanations are not objected to and I don’t expect that that will happen.”
The Green Party and Act have also confirmed they won’t be objecting to a personal statement made by Whaitiri.
This morning Whaitiri gave her first major interview since her announcement last week, revealing to TVNZ’s Breakfast that she “didn’t feel heard” within Labour.
Asked why she had not even called her boss - Hipkins - she said she prioritised who needed to know and that she went to her “trusted sources”, including whānau.
She also said the timing was a factor in not telling the Prime Minister nor any of her colleagues, including the Māori caucus that had stood by her through her toughest moments in Parliament.
The Herald understands Whaitiri’s official announcement was planned for a later date but had to be brought forward after media inquiries.
Ultimately, she told Breakfast the decision to move to Te Pāti Māori was a deeply personal one.
“It’s always been a calling of mine. It’s been my calling to return to an unapologetically Māori party,” Whaitiri said.
Labour senior Māori minister Kelvin Davis said they had tried to meet with Whaitiri but had been turned down.
He said it was “disappointing” she had left the party without raising any issues with them.
On her plans to speak in the House, Davis said that was a decision for Te Pāti Māori but he felt it was just about “making a scene”.
Labour senior Māori minister Peeni Henare said he did not think it was fair for Whaitiri to say she was not listened to.
“There were no indications to me.
“Meka and I served as ministers together. In my initial response to the news, I said I was sad, because for 10 years Meka and I fought for all the issues that matter to our people.”
Henare said they had asked Whaitiri to meet with them to “clear the air” but had been rebuffed.
“There is a tikanga matter here that says ‘kia whakanoa, kia whakawātea’, but that was declined.”
Asked about Te Pāti Māori plans to “welcome” Whaitiri over to their side of the House, Henare said it was “grandstanding”.
“There are more important issues to our people.”
Co-chair of the Labour Māori caucus Willie Jackson said he still had not spoken with Whaitiri but their “door is open all of the time”. They had offered to hui with her but she had not responded.
He said he was surprised to hear Whaitiri’s comments she did not feel heard.
There was “no intention” to block Whaitiri’s bid to make a statement in the House, he said.
“From the Māori perspective, we won’t be opposed if she wants to take a point of order. That’s up to her.”
