Former Kiingitanga spokesperson Ngira Simmonds challenged Te Pāti Māori's leadership at the party's AGM in Rotorua. Photo / RNZ
By Lillian Hanly of RNZ
Former Kiingitanga spokesperson Ngira Simmonds challenged Te Pāti Māori’s leadership, questioning whether they were the right people to unite the party.
He referenced Parliament as the house of lions, but queried who the real lion was, attacking certain members of the party.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi reminded those listening that there was only one enemy – the government.
The pōwhiri at Waiatuhi marae in Rotorua concluded and a slimmed-down version of Te Pāti Māori’s AGM had about 200 people in attendance on Sunday.
On Friday evening, an email was sent to members highlighting the High Court ruling temporarily re-instating Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as a party member and stating how it would impact the AGM.
The email said, to uphold the court ruling, the AGM would be limited to receiving reports from the leadership and electorates. It said no other matters would be addressed or resolved, including any resolutions or motions outside of the reports.
The closed-door AGM comes after months of turmoil that led to the expulsion of two of their six MPs – Tākuta Ferris and Kapa-Kingi – the latter of whom attended, following the court ruling.
During the pōwhiri, many speakers addressed the issue of disunity within the party and spoke of the need to stop biting each other’s backs – “ngau tuara”.
Simmonds said he stood up to speak because of the depth of his sadness and frustration, as well as the depth of support the late Māori king had for Te Pāti Māori.
In te reo Māori, he spoke of the pain the membership felt, with te ao Māori more widely, at the turmoil that had taken place this year.
He spoke of Kīngi Tūheitia’s call for kotahitanga (unity) in 2024 and the way meetings were then held around the country, and the call was picked up by Te Arikinui Nga wai hono i te po.
Simmonds said he travelled to Parliament recently and spoke to the six MPs, and the party president and found the party wasn’t of one mind.
He asked who should unite the party now.
Simmonds referenced the saying that Parliament was the house of lions – “ko taua whare te whare o ngā raiona” – but said, if they were being honest with themselves, the question was who the lion was that had “ngau” (bit or attacked) Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, Tākuta Ferris and Oriini Kaipara.
He said the truth was the party was attacking them, but as he made the comments, he acknowledged he was staunchly still in support of Te Pāti Māori.
Simmonds said everyone was responsible for what had taken place – there was no single person at fault.
He challenged party president John Tamihere, and the party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, asking if they were the right people to unite the party and the people.
Simmonds said he had huge belief and support in the co-leaders, but the people were hurting and the party was hurting too.
He questioned who determined there were now only four Te Pāti Māori MPs and challenged the news that Tāmaki Makaurau had supported the decision.
Simmonds, who has been supporting the newest Te Pāti Māori MP, said she never agreed to expel party members, despite her Tāmaki Makaurau electorate voting in favour of the motion.
His final comments addressed how the pōtiki (the youngest) had been the leader through all this and acknowledged Hana-Rawhitit Maipi Clarke.
He said many people had voted for Te Pāti Māori and the support was available to them, but they felt the supporters weren’t being heard.
There was one pathway forward. He called for the party to hold meetings around the country and hear from its constituents.
He finished by echoing Kiingi Tuheitia’s final declarations around kotahitanga and mana motuhake.
Kaipara then rose to start his waiata tauotoko, Purea Nei, where Kapa-Kingi stood too, along with Naida Glavish, Selwyn Parata, Potaka Maipi (Maipi-Clarke’s father) and John Tamihere.
Co-leader Rawiri Waititi was the final speaker and he began by acknowledging Te Arawa for hosting the event.
He then referenced the AGM during 2024, where only 20 people arrived, but this year, now there were issues, everyone came along, he said.
He said he heard the comments that had been made during the pōwhiri. He asked how they might all soften their hearts.
He agreed with Simmonds, acknowledging that it wasn’t only six MPs paddling the waka – everyone must help by picking up a paddle.
He acknowledged the pain te ao Māori were feeling, particularly in terms of the cost of living or homelessness, and yet here the members were biting at each other – “e ngaungau nei i a tatou”.
He said the focus must be turned to the correct enemy, which wasn’t each other, but the government.
He called for people to stop taking their gripes to social media and was frustrated that people wrote on Facebook, but didn’t speak to them face-to-face.
This meeting was called for the people, not for the six MPs to debate each other. It was for the people to decide, he said.
The load was heavy for the six MPs at Parliament, then they returned to their people, and they were attacked by Māori and Pākehā alike.
He said it was a “double whammy” – the Government was attacking the party and Māori were attacking the party.
His comments weren’t to disparage or criticise Māori, but to awaken them.
The media and the courts weren’t going to resolve this – they had to resolve it themselves, he said.
He called for supporters to be strong and to look ahead to the future through working together. He concluded by acknowledging those who had passed in the various electorates.
Party leadership was expected to address the media at the end of the AGM.
– RNZ