Editorial: Parliament better for Harawira's departure

Opinion

Hone Harawira did not exactly grace Parliament while he was there, so nobody would have been surprised at the manner of his departure. He did not accept defeat well, refusing to concede on election night, holding out for the final count. When that showed Labour's Kelvin Davis had beaten him by 739 votes he demanded a recount.

Once the 22,000 ballot papers had been recounted under the eye of a District Court judge at a cost of $30,000, the result was confirmed. Mr Harawira in fact had two votes fewer.

Generous things have been said about Mr Harawira's time in Parliament, as is customary at departure. Generosity is more gracious than true. As a person with no time for these niceties, Mr Harawira deserves an honest appraisal.

His performance in Parliament did not justify a public salary.

He proudly declared he was "an activist, not a politician" and he was right. He set his cap firmly against compromises, left the Maori Party for that reason and made no further contribution of note.

His performance will be remembered mainly for some offensive remarks in bad language.

Applying for the recount, he cast doubt on the integrity of the election.

Maori, he claimed, had been mistreated at polling booths and sometimes told there were no Maori electorate papers.

Everyone else knows how he was defeated, including Kim Dotcom. Internet-Mana required compromises of Mr Harawira and he found it hard. Parliament is not where he is effective and he should not go back.