Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer abruptly left a media stand-up when asked about claims the party's leadership is akin to a dictatorship. Video / Mark Mitchell
THE FACTS
Te Pāti Māori announced its reset on Thursday to a crowd of supporters in Parliament’s Grand Hall.
The party’s newest MP Oriini Kaipara gave her maiden speech.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has previously said he didn’t believe Te Pāti Māori looked capable of governing.
It’s not often an MP is named one of the world’s most influential rising stars only for all the attention to surround their colleagues.
But such was Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke’s lot as she faded into the background of a tumultuous week for Te Pāti Māori’s five otherMPs.
In Time magazine’s blurb about the 23-year-old MP, former United States Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wrote how Maipi-Clarke leading last year’s haka in the House after the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill brought “tears to my eyes” as she marvelled at the display of “indigenous power and pride”.
Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee had quite a different reaction when similar scenes played out in Parliament on Thursday as an unsanctioned haka erupted from the public gallery at the conclusion of Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara’s maiden speech.
An exasperated Brownlee briefly tried to appeal to the gallery, arguing a “guarantee” had been given that post-speech activity would be confined to a waiata.
With a furrowed brow, Brownlee looked to his left – not far from where Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere had been sitting – before composing himself, crossing his arms behind his back and ordering the House to be suspended.
New MP Oriini Kaipara participates in a haka after her maiden speech. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Unlike in November, Maipi-Clarke only played a supporting role, briefly joining in while on the House floor alongside Kaipara who had responded in kind.
In a meeting before her speech, it appears Kaipara assured Brownlee no haka had been planned. However, her acknowledgement one may occur without her prompting has raised suspicions the guarantee might not have been airtight.
Brownlee wants to determine whether any political party helped to organise the haka. The result of his inquiries, which could be revealed next week, could form the basis for a referral to the Privileges Committee.
It will be difficult for Brownlee to prove Te Pāti Māori was involved but it may not matter, given he’s unlikely to look favourably on Kaipara and Maipi-Clarke’s actions on the House floor after he had reluctantly allowed Kaipara’s speech to be held earlier in the day to account for the party’s self-described “reset” later that afternoon.
If it achieved one thing, the haka and any future disciplinary action will ensure Kaipara’s first steps as an MP won’t be entirely lost amid the party’s de facto campaign launch – even if it means the substance of her speech about the revitalisation of te reo Māori fades from memory.
How Kaipara’s introduction is reflected in polling will be intriguing; last year’s haka alongside the culmination of a nationwide hīkoi led to Te Pāti Māori’s support surging (this week’s Taxpayer’s Union-Curia poll put the party at 4.4%).
Te Pāti Māori Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara spoke at length about her passion for te reo Māori. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Circumstances have changed dramatically between then and now with Toitū te Tiriti, the protest group behind the hīkoi, distancing itself from the party after its spokesman and son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, Eru Kapa-Kingi, raised allegations of a dictatorial leadership style.
The public has seen continued efforts to avoid scrutiny regarding the allegations, even as co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi make frank admissions about the party’s struggles to cope with a larger presence in Parliament, the need for more open communication and clearer policy direction.
Speeches from Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer underwhelmed by not directly addressing Kapa-Kingi’s allegations, which came after his mother was demoted as the party’s whip.
While the “reset” had been in the works for some time, Kapa-Kingi going public forced the party to announce it more widely. And yet, Waititi sought to differentiate the two at an impromptu media stand-up, stating any questions unrelated to the reset – about the allegations – would cause them to leave.
Sure enough, the question was asked and Waititi followed through, physically steering a reluctant Ngarewa-Packer away from the microphones, a reaction likely informed by lingering resentment over media coverage of the party’s Tāmaki Makaurau byelection campaign.
It was an uncomfortable sight and will do nothing to hose down claims of an overbearing leadership structure.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi hold a stand-up with media after its reset at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It also presented as a complete reversal of what the pair had espoused just minutes earlier, assuring supporters they would “see and feel” a more proactive and transparent communication approach.
Some credit is due. All political parties suffer internal turmoil. Admitting to it publicly is much rarer.
While he may not appreciate the comparison, Waititi’s talk of a troubled party now looking to row its waka in the same direction was not unlike Christopher Luxon’s description of his “turn-around job” with National. Te Pāti Māori back on track, perhaps?
There were clear signals the party wants to appear more collaborative and favours a coalition with its left-leaning colleagues in the Greens and Labour, whose leader just two weeks ago questioned Te Pāti Māori’s ability to govern.
Chris Hipkins’ strengthening condemnation is, in part, a bid to reassure voters who doubt a stable government can be achieved with Te Pāti Māori in the room.
While Ngarewa-Packer admitted the party needed to “get our act together”, dodging scrutiny and testing Brownlee’s patience will do those efforts no favours.
Rifts that could cause real damage remain. MP Tākuta Ferris still wants to justify a social media post opposing non-Māori Labour volunteers participating in the recent byelection campaign, which Labour openly despises.
Speculation persists about Kapa-Kingi’s future after her demotion. Waititi says “there’s no talk of any jobs on the line”, but Kapa-Kingi discussing publicly whether the party might be leaking against her is problematic to say the least.
Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has faced allegations of her own. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The party will look to shift the narrative to policy, promising announcements from next week that will fill a vacuum left by Labour, hiking pressure on Hipkins to explain how he would satisfy Te Pāti Māori’s wishes in potential coalition agreements.
Hipkins’ focus will be largely on his own party as it plans its own announcements over the coming weeks, including on tax.
It will be welcome news for Luxon and those in National who hope the release of the left bloc’s policy platform provides a boost in the polls.
National dipping into the 20s (albeit by 0.4%) came with some confusing spin from Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who said last week’s poll was bad news for Hipkins as it proved a single path to government via Te Pāti Māori Place.
She neglected to mention the poll showed National’s road to a second term with Act and New Zealand First reaches nothing but a dead end.
Thus far, the Government’s messaging has heavily relied on the economy finally spluttering back to life. That may be due for a refresh as those at the highest levels consider why its explanations lead people to believe Labour is best suited to address the cost of living.
Despite it all, Winston Peters’ NZ First is soaring in double digits; the party’s vote growth spared from the struggles of its coalition partners.
On the evening of the poll’s release, a group of National backbenchers convened in Peters’ Beehive office for a whiskey sampling that stretched into the wee hours.
National voters will be hoping their MPs manage to recall any pearls of wisdom that might help change their fortunes.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
