Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer drew a line in the sand at parliament after Oriini Kaipara’s maiden speech.
Photo: RNZ / Anneke Smith
Te Pāti Māori says its reset will focus on discipline and policy, as the party tries to “steady the waka” and ensure the current government only survived for “one-term”.
The co-leaders drew a line in the sand at Parliament on Thursday after a tumultuous few months, and following the maiden speech of their newest MP.
The party has gone through the death of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election, the fallout of comments made by Tākuta Ferris towards Labour volunteers, and allegations of problematic leadership made by Toitu te Tiriti.
Co-leader Rawiri Waititi told their supporters the goal of the reset was to make this government a “one-term government”.
The party had policy, strategy and its own solutions, but acknowledged it had steered off course, Waititi said.
“Let’s be honest with each other, when the seas are rough, survival mode kicks in, and drains energy.
“You’ve told us the same thing across the motu, ‘we want clearer direction’ – we heard you.”
Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer spoke about the “pain and pressure” inside Parliament.
“We’ve stopped hearing our own solutions because we’ve been in the storm of one of the worst political environments ever imaginable.”
The party had growth spurts and growing pains, and had been tested in ways it’s never been tested before, Ngarewa-Packer said.
She said the party had been “broken”, and tested in ways “we’ve never been tested before as a movement”.
“We own that,” she said.
“We have listened carefully. Our people want direction, discipline and delivery, so we’re tightening the lashings, clarifying roles, front footing communication.”
The party was also going to start elevating its policy platform, “not as something pretty on paper but as a voyage plan,” Ngarewa-Packer said, pointing to the economy, health, housing, justice and education as issues on which they would focus.
The party didn’t need to “rebuild the waka” just “correct our course”, Waititi said.
“Small adjustments, big landfall. We already have a robust policy platform. Our job now is elevation.”
Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara spoke about the “resilience of Māori” in her first ever speech in Parliament on Thursday.
Photo: RNZ / Anneke Smith
They spoke of a need to “change the tide” in changing the government, a cause they shared with their “whanaunga” (relatives) the Greens and the Labour parties.
“Different crews, same destination” said Ngarewa-Packer, “that is our coalition message.”
Waititi used his speech to lay out a history of the party since 2020, when the pair first came to Parliament.
“We were learning the house while building a movement outside the house. Many times we felt out of our depth, but our resolve never wavered.”
Parliament held the “ghosts of some of the most vilest humans to ever walk our whenua”, he said.
“So we vowed, Debbie and I, that we would never get comfortable in here. The second we felt at home in this place would be the second we knew we’d been assimilated by those ghosts and their uri (descendants).”
Waititi also spoke about growing pains, and acknowledged the differences between the co-leaders.
“Debbie’s Taranaki, I’m Te Whānau a Apanui. I’m a Tane. She’s a wahine. I’m young. She’s … timeless,” he joked.
“We came from very different worlds and methods. Lockdowns meant we’d barely met, then suddenly we were we were on the deck together every day and expected to pull perfect strokes.”
Ngarewa-Packer teased back, as she specified their determination to “steady the waka, set the course and sail together”.
“We started as strangers, and now we’re battling siblings. For the record, I’m not old, I’m just marinated like a good pāua fritter, and I get tougher the longer you fry me anyway.”
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Ngarewa-Packer said the party had experienced “growing pains” and “cracks” after expanding from just two MPs to six.
“We’re a really young movement, and it’s been tough,” she said. “We’ve all got very strong personalities.”
Ngarewa-Packer said the late Takukai Tarsh Kemp had been the “peacekeeper” of the caucus.
“Having that one critical player out of the waka makes for some dynamic changes.”
Voters had made clear they wanted Te Pāti Māori to gets its act together and focus on ousting the current government, she said.
“We’ve identified who our coalition partners will be, we’ve identified the common ground, and we’ve identified and heard that we mustn’t let anything jeopardise the way that we get this government out.”
Asked about the recent allegations of the party running a “dictatorship model”, Waititi abruptly called the stand-up to a close and marched off, pulling Ngarewa-Packer with him.
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