There will be the inevitable repositioning by Labour. In increasing its support it will look to take votes from National rather than cannibalise its support parties on the left. This will require moving to centre ground with the odd cross-border raid to the right. This shift is not necessarily an easy alignment with the Māori electorate.
Implementation of policy will be another challenge. Broad policy platforms already announced and applied equally to an unequal society, simply exacerbates disadvantage. One size does not fit all. Māori communities experience different realities. Relativity and how Māori perceived their progress against other parts of society plays a large part in perceptions of achievement.
The Māori Labour caucus undoubtedly upholds a kaupapa Māori framework. However, the rest of these moving parts within Labour do not. While the caucus is Māori by name, final decisions in the end are Labour by nature.
This is the argument that gives rise to an independent Māori voice at the table. It is not referring to individual voices per se. Many members of the Labour Maori caucus are clearly able to articulate their view whether at select committee, caucus or Cabinet. It rather refers to the collective sum of all internal parts of the party—and most importantly the collective responsibility of its caucus—upholding a kaupapa Māori framework.
And this is why an independent party that is Māori is required as part of any indigenous self-determination movement.
As an independent party, the Māori Party had a respectable debut in government and achieved significant policy gains. Many post-mortems have been published since its failure to win a single seat — too close to National, departure of Hone Harawira, internal leadership disputes and a time for change are common themes.
But there are less existential reasons as well. The Labour Māori caucus simply had a stronger ground game across the Māori seats. Their policies and communications were more confident and synchronised, which means the caucus was more internally cohesive.
The Māori Party was outflanked by effective Labour Māori candidates running in overlapping general seats. Its decision to not seek list places, eliminating the tactic of split voting, also paid dividends.
How the Māori and Mana parties rebuild themselves remains to be seen. Perhaps by next Waitangi Day we might know. But how they take the opportunity to redefine the balance between existential issues and the electoral political theatre they seek to engage will be crucial.
Ultimately the Māori electorate deserves a choice between an independent party that is Māori or a Māori inner power bloc from a major political party. Only time will tell which vanguard wins the ongoing support of the Māori electorate. Perhaps one day Māori might be able to choose combinations of both.
* Dr Chris Tooley holds a PhD in political philosophy from Cambridge and is the former senior ministerial adviser to Sir Pita Sharples.
