Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
It's reset day for Te Pāti Māori, after a series of dramas and accusations that have shone an unwanted spotlight on its politicians
It's a day of two halves for Te Pāti Māori as its newest MP makes her maiden speech in Parliament, and it announces a long-planned reset it hopes will have the effect of getting attention away from the controversy and turmoil of recent months.
Tension within the party came to a head last week with the highly public split with a powerful ally, Toitū Te Tiriti. One of its leaders, Eru Kapa-Kingi said the party was run by a dictatorship and the environment was toxic.
The party has hit back but not before more controversy.
Today The Detail looks at what's behind the ructions, the origins of Toitū and why the movement wants to distance itself from the party.
Stuff's Explainer Editor Lloyd Burr says trouble within Te Pāti Māori started weeks before Eru Kapa-Kingi's bombshell allegations.
"It's really fallen apart ever since the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election and the lead up to that and the campaign, which was pretty appalling, poorly managed, they didn't talk to each other, then they blacklisted journos," says Burr.
Not helping was a post by MP Tākuta Ferris where he criticised "Indians, Asians, Black and Pakeha" for volunteering in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election with Labour. His leaders apologised but Ferris doubled down, then tripled down, saying he had nothing to apologise for.
"I don't give a crap what you care about or who you care about, in the Māori seats it's Māori only," Ferris said at the time.
Soon after, the respected Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi - mother of Eru - was demoted as party whip.
Burr says he's surprised the party hasn't already fallen apart.
"I'm surprised it hasn't done a Hone Harawira and a group of them have gone off to form their own party," Burr says.
Harawira is a former Te Tai Tokerau MP who famously split away from the Māori Party after a rift with colleagues.
"I'm not saying that's not going to happen, I think that's probably still something that could happen, that the two co-leaders will stay as Te Pāti Māori and the other four MPs will form their own party but I think that's a possibility. But it's just been a bit of a disastrous time for Te Pāti Māori," he says.
RNZ political reporter Lillian Hanly says Toitū Te Tiriti has long been linked with the party and there are overlapping connections. For example, Eru Kapa-Kingi is not only the son of a Te Pāti Māori MP he was also on the party's list. Also, the daughter of Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere and wife of co-leader Rawiri Waititi, Kiri Tamihere-Waititi was a leader in the Toitū movement. She has since backed away from it, says Hanly.
Toitū Te Tiriti was born out of Te Pāti Māori, according to Waititi, with the strong connection evident in last November's hīkoi to parliament to protest the Treaty Principles Bill.
Waititi himself was leading the hīkoi over Auckland Harbour Bridge.
"What we saw last week was one of their key spokespeople, Eru Kapa-Kingi, he came out and made allegations about the way the party was run, saying it was problematic and effectively a dictatorship model," says Hanly.
"He pointed to structural issues within the party, he criticised them for not holding the annual general meeting and National Council hui despite constitutional requirements," she explains. "And he criticised what he called an ego-driven narrative that only Te Pāti Māori could hold the Māori seats."
Toitū Te Tiriti has since stated that Kapa-Kingi's allegations were individual commentary.
In a statement posted on Facebook the movement says:
"While Toitū Te Tiriti has roots connected to Te Pāti Māori, it quickly evolved - as it always intended - into an independent kaupapa led by a kāhui, informed by the people, to educate, advocate and uphold the vision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
"Toitū is maintaining independence from all political parties.
"This is not about cutting ties but about ensuring Mana Motuhake and independence for the kaupapa."
It goes on to say that Toitū remains committed to allyship with all who uphold Te Tiriti.
RNZ's Te Ao Māori reporter Ella Stewart has followed Toitū on protests and says Kapa-Kingi describes himself as a mana Maori activator.
He's a law academic, so he has lots of knowledge in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
"He likes to call himself an activator rather than an activist.
"Because his mum is an MP as well and he's a leader in te ao Māori there's a lot at stake for him."
She can understand the blurring of lines when it comes to the two groups, with Toitū Te Tiriti organising last year's hīkoi and and the party's co-leaders at the front of it.
"So it was really hard to say that they weren't one and the same. But I think it is more of a decision to say, 'look, we're activists, we are going to activate for our people; and you are the politicians, so go and do that."
But Lloyd Burr has doubts that they can.
"What are they doing in Parliament?" he asks. "Are they in Parliament because they want to go into government; because they want to be ministers and when you're ministers then you have the resources and the power to actually do things? And they'll be able to do things for their people?
"Or are they just in Parliament to use it as a staging ground for their theatre?
"And that's the question a lot of people want to know, why are they here? And if they're not here to try and get some good change, what's the point in being in Parliament?
"At the moment it just seems as though they're infighting, they haven't really got any cohesive plan of what they're doing.
"The Labour Party and the Greens are probably looking at them going yeah, do we let them prop up our government if they're just going to be activists and agitators? And what kind of stable government would that be?
"And voters are asking that question right now."
Meanwhile Te Pāti Māori's youngest MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke was named by Time as one of the world's "most influential rising stars" - an event that's been largely drowned out by the ructions of her colleagues.
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