Takuta Ferris. Photo / RNZ
Te Pāti Māori MP Takuta Ferris is under fire for a social media post taking issue with the ethnicity of Labour supporters campaigning ahead of the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection.
In text posted over an image of Labour MPs and volunteers campaigning for Peeni Henare in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate seat, Ferris said: “This blows my mind!!”
“Indians, Asians, Black and Pākehā campaigning to take a Māori seat from Māori,” Ferris said, adding multiple “exploding head” emojis and pictures of himself looking confused and shaking his head.
A spokeswoman for the party said Te Pāti Māori “does not condone the language used in that post”.
“We have spoken with Tākuta and instructed him to remove it,” the party said.
The post has now been removed.
“We wholeheartedly apologise for any hurt it has caused. Our movement is, and always has been, for the people. We leave nobody behind. We value and appreciate the contribution that Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Moana make every day in building a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa.
“This has come off the back of a very raw and difficult few weeks, following the loss of our māreikura Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Our team has been in the trenches, feeling the weight of constant attack and pressure, and sometimes that hurt spills over in ways that do not reflect who we are as a kaupapa or leaders.
“We stand strong in our kaupapa, envisioning an Aotearoa Hou that treats everyone as we would on our marae- welcomed, fed, housed, kept safe, and loved. Manaakitanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi are the foundations of all our policies.”
Labour’s Māori campaign chair Willie Jackson told the Herald Ferris needed to talk to his co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, who just three days ago said her party cared about all New Zealanders and not just Māori.
“Mr Ferris is with us at the Koroneihana, where the Queen has just welcomed Pacific and Central America leaders to the Marae,” said Jackson.
“He seems to be offside not only with his leader but also with the new Queen. He needs to grow up.”
He said Māori have “relationships with all races” and all of Labour backed Henare.
The Race Relations Commissioner’s office was contacted. It responded by saying, “we won’t be able to comment on this due to staff availability”.
Ferris apologised in Parliament earlier this year after the Privileges Committee found he had deliberately misled the House with comments he made during a general debate last September.
Earlier this week, the Herald’s The Front Page published a story featuring Ngarewa-Packer saying Te Pāti Māori cared not just for Māori, but all New Zealanders.
“I can see where that narrative comes from, but our actions completely say the opposite. The hikoi shows we are completely the opposite,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
“Our support for other people, Palestine, our support for environmental issues, and our support for everyone being well, completely show the opposite. We want to look after all workers and all New Zealanders.”
She said while Te Pāti Māori is an indigenous-led party, it was “never about living alone”.
Saturday marks the final day for voting in the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, in which Te Pāti Māori’s candidate is former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara.
Voting began on August 25, but the turnout has so far been low. As of September 2, just 3681 votes had been cast. There are about 44,000 people enrolled in the electorate.