{"id":104525,"date":"2025-10-28T03:47:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T03:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/104525\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T03:47:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T03:47:24","slug":"what-the-heck-is-going-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/104525\/","title":{"rendered":"What the heck is going on?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Analysis: Leadership clashes, claims and counter-claims – Re: News\u2019 M\u0101ori Specialist Te Ahipourewa Forbes looks at the turbulence engulfing Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori. <\/p>\n

Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori has pitched itself as unapologetically M\u0101ori, fiercely independent, and politically disruptive. But in recent months, the party’s inner turmoil has splintered what many M\u0101ori hoped was a unifying political movement. <\/p>\n

In 2023, the party’s growth from two MPs to six after the election was historic. It signalled a surge in support and a renewed appetite for kaupapa M\u0101ori politics. But with growth came growing pains. <\/p>\n

And then, in June this year, there was the sudden death of MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp<\/a>, who had been described by colleagues as the caucus \u201cpeacekeeper\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MP<\/p>\n

MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp, who had helped hold the caucus together. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Her passing was followed by a tense T\u0101maki Makaurau by-election in September which saw former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara take the seat.<\/a> <\/p>\n

That win was somewhat tainted by Te Tai Tonga MP T\u0101kuta Ferris, who drew criticism for “racist” comments toward Labour volunteers. <\/p>\n

\"Oriini<\/p>\n

Oriini Kaipara took the T\u0101maki Makaurau seat. (Source: Parliament TV)<\/p>\n

Later in September, MP for Te Tai Tokerau Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was demoted as the party whip, a move she called “disappointing”. She later spoke of “dysfunction” in the party. <\/p>\n

‘Dictatorship’ <\/p>\n

And the difficult times didn’t stop there. At the start of October, Eru Kapa-Kingi – one of the lead organisers of the Toit\u016b Te Tiriti movement and son of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi – joined the fray. <\/p>\n

He labelled Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori\u2019s leadership style a “dictatorship”<\/a> and said his movement, which led the h\u012bkoi protests to Parliament last year, would cut ties with the party. <\/p>\n

\"Eru<\/p>\n

Eru Kapa-Kingi alongside Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori members at last year’s h\u012bkoi protests. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

The fallout deepened further when Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori accused Mariameno Kapa-Kingi of breaching budget protocols and internal conduct. She denies wrongdoing and has called the process “unjust”. <\/p>\n

Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori hit back, releasing a letter accusing Eru Kapa-Kingi of abusing Parliament staff. In the message, Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori said Eru Kapa-Kingi’s claims were “part of a larger issue with his behaviour”. <\/p>\n

The claim and counter-claim continued, with Eru Kapa-Kingi calling the allegations “false”. In a post to his social media, he said the party leadership was attempting to discredit him in a bid to “avoid accountability and protect their own power”. <\/p>\n

Then, yesterday, it emerged that the Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori has put forward four motions to its national executive, one of them being a proposed suspension of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Mariameno<\/p>\n

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

A separate motion called for a reset of Kapa-Kingi’s electorate executive, citing dysfunction and failure to meet party standards, and another alleged she had seriously breached the party\u2019s kawa (constitution) over alleged budgetary overspends. <\/p>\n

A third motion proposed her suspension as an MP, and the fourth requested the development of a formal process to carry out her suspension and report back to the National Council. <\/p>\n

Party split ‘inevitable’ without unity<\/p>\n

Former co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell and Labour MP Willie Jackson have both voiced concern, warning that a split in the party could be “inevitable” if unity isn’t restored. <\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell warned that a split in the party could be “inevitable” if unity isn\u2019t restored. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

If Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was to be suspended from Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori, she would still remain in Parliament as an elected MP for Te Tai Tokerau. Unless she resigns, is expelled under the Electoral Act, or chooses to leave Parliament, she keeps her seat. However, she would likely be treated as an independent MP, losing access to party resources, caucus meetings, and coordinated messaging. <\/p>\n

This could limit her influence in Parliament and isolate her politically, especially if Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori formally distances itself from her. <\/p>\n

Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori has had a rough few months. Whether the party can pull together and refocus on its kaupapa will shape what happens next, especially with the election coming up. <\/p>\n

For now, the waka is wobbling, but it hasn\u2019t sunk. Yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Analysis: Leadership clashes, claims and counter-claims – Re: News\u2019 M\u0101ori Specialist Te Ahipourewa Forbes looks at the turbulence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,4432,43,135,8027,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-104525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-maori-issues","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics","12":"tag-te-pati-maori","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}