The co-chair of Labour's Māori caucus says Meka Whaitiri's defection to Te Pāti Māori has caused pain for both sides and that he should've "looked after her better".
On Wednesday, Whaitiri confirmed that she would defect from Labour and join Te Pāti Māori for this year's general election. In an at-times emotional speech, Whaitiri said the decision was "not an easy one, but it's the right one".
Speaking to Q+A, Willie Jackson also discussed the possibility of a Te Pāti Māori coalition at the election. (Source: 1News)
Labour's Māori caucus co-chair Willie Jackson told Q+A that he took some responsibility for Whaitiri choosing to defect. He said Whaitiri likely wanted to be promoted into Cabinet — a motivation also speculated on by others.
"It's obvious that she probably wanted to be promoted into Cabinet, and she's a very capable minister. Did I do enough as a co-chair to look after her? I don't think I did," he told Jack Tame.
"The first time she was passed over, I supported her, and there was a lot of acknowledgement in terms of her work.
"I think we, as a Māori caucus, probably should have looked after a bit better.
"It's easy to say it's opportunistic — she's leaving and all that — but actually, she's mana wāhine, she's someone who has made a major contribution to the Māori caucus in Labour, and we should have looked after her better."
He continued: "We have to examine ourselves, because look we know she left, I think it's clear that she was hurting. And we have to ask ourselves: 'Did we do enough?' and I'm prepared to take some responsibility as a co-chair."
Jackson said both sides were hurting as a result of the resignation and Whaitiri still hadn't reached out. He said the MP's whānau had long-standing links to the Labour Party.
"I think she's hurting," the caucus co-chair said.
"I don't want to dump on Meka this morning,,, This is about whānau too. Her mum went to school with my mum. Her sister Jo has been a great organiser. It's been a whānau that has been so supportive of Labour over the last 20 years."
"We're a bit traumatised, some of us. You go through a range of emotions with disappointed and sad, but there's a lot of aroha for Meka."
In announcing her defection, the MP said she was being "called home".
"Māori political activism is part of being Māori. It comes from our whakapapa, and we as Māori have a responsibility to it. Not others, we. Today I'm acknowledging that whakapapa, I'm acknowledging my responsibility to it and it's calling me home."
“As the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti sitting MP, I intend to be seated with Te Pāti Māori when we return to Parliament - joining an unapologetic Māori political movement to achieve what was promised to us 183 years ago.”
Jackson said he didn't envisage any further defections: "No one's going anywhere. That's what they (Labour's Māori caucus MPs) said as of Friday when I spoke, and we had just about all our Māori caucus there, and I chaired the meeting."
'Robust campaign against Māori Party' - Labour's Jackson
A number of opinion polls have shown Te Pāti Māori as the kingmaker for the next government, with a heated election campaign anticipated in the next six months.
The most recent 1News Kantar Public Poll suggested the party would secure 3% of the party vote — meaning around three MPs, assuming it wins its electorate seat.
The latest 1News Kantar Public Poll places Te Pāti Māori in the kingmaker role again, with the numbers to secure a coalition with Labour and the Greens. (Source: 1News)
Earlier this week, National leader Christopher Luxon suggested a coalition with the party was likely out of the picture due to the "bloc" of Labour, Green, and Māori MPs.
"I think you've got to be really clear - there's a Labour, Greens, Te Pati Māori bloc that's together and you know, that's what you're going to get if you vote for any of those three parties," he told RNZ.
Jackson said Labour was still in the game for Māori seats when defending why voters would choose the Government over Te Pati Māori if they were voting tactically.
"People sweat blood and tears for Labour," he said.
"As I talked about, some of those mana wahine, we can't just pass over our seats to the Māori Party. It doesn't work like that. We've got history. We've got tikanga. We've got whakapapa. You're just looking at numbers, Jack.
"We can't just swap over and say: 'Well, there you go. These seven seats.'
"We've got history, that we have to keep celebrating, and we'll go into a robust campaign against the Māori Party."
The party's co-leader discusses Te Pāti Māori's goals if it holds the balance of power after this year's election. (Source: 1News)
Speaking to Q+A in March, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the party may not seek a traditional support agreement if it holds the balance of power.
At the time, Ngarewa-Packer said she didn't want to become a minister in any instance.
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