Hone pact 'doomed from start'

Hone Harawira. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Mana Party leader Hone Harawira came to last week's peace talks with an olive branch in one hand and a gun in the other, says Maori Party president Pem Bird.

Mr Harawira initiated the meeting with Maori Party leaders after he won the Te Tai Tokerau byelection,
wanting to find a way the parties could co-operate in the November 26 general election.

The Maori Party turned him down, and Mr Bird issued a statement which he said would explain why the deal was doomed from the start.

"His sustained 'dissing' of the Maori Party created the recipe for the emphatic 'no' to any working relationship at all," Mr Bird said.

"Hone Harawira's talking up of the working together campaign on television unfortunately came complete with the contradiction of an olive branch in one hand and a gun in the other - this did not go down well with our membership at all.

"The pact was seen for what it was - one of convenience, of expediency and of opportunism based on the contrived perception that we must be seen to be working together because we are all Maori," he said.