Te Pāti Māori's co-leaders are presenting a unified front in defending John Tamihere after the party president called for two of his MPs to throw in the towel.
Crisis and infighting within the party deepened yesterday afternoon after Tamihere publicly fired back at his rebel MPs, Tākuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.
A petition calling for Tamihere to resign was posted online on Monday morning.
Speaking to 1News, co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer both showed support for their president and defended reconciliation efforts with the "rogue MPs".
"You either love him (John Tamihere) or you don't," Ngarewa-Packer said.
"But this is someone who has got the experience whose strategic political mind has positioned us into where we are.
"Now I didn't like JT either when I started ... I say that to his face. But what I do like is the mastermind and the brilliance that he has to be able to strategically position and drive this party. He drove the strategy for the for the (Tamaki Makaurau) by-election.
"He drove the strategy in 2020 and in 2023. That is what we need right now to take on the monster of a Government that we have. That is the brain trust.
"He's not the uncle that you cuddle up with, but he is the strategist that will help the party get through. So, I haven't seen anything that he's done wrong other than be JT."
John Tamihere says MPs Takuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi should be the ones to go. (Source: 1News)
Both were speaking ahead of a meeting with iwi chairpersons to help address the turmoil.
Meanwhile, Waititi said allegations of toxicity, bullying and dictatorship within TPM lacked evidence and that internal reconciliation attempts had been made.
Ngarewa-Packer said, "absolutely we want to have peace. But the reality is there has to be a time limit, and now our people are asking us to push forward."
Waititi added: "We've done many tikanga processes through this particular issue. We haven't been able to determine what the issue is, and they haven't been able to articulate it."
He said Eru Kapa-Kingi had made his allegations against the part "without receipt, without proof and without backing them up".
"We've been asked for those questions. Those questions should be asked of Eru Kapa-Kingi, and also Mariameno and Takuta. Those questions should be asked to them."
Tamihere earlier claimed the rogue MPs sought to challenge the co-leaders, with Mariameno Kapa-Kingi alleged to have gauged support for replacing Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, while Ferris would challenge Waititi. She told 1News today "there has never been a challenge".
Takuta Ferris reacts to a vote to suspend fellow MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. (Source: 1News)
Asked if Ferris or Mariameno Kapa-Kingi would be expelled from the party, Waititi told 1News this morning that TPM was working through an internal process set by its national council.
"That's not a decision for me. That is a decision for the electorates. We've taken it back to the people, and then the national council is making those decisions, " he said. "Heading forward, we must allow that process to happen, and we're cleaning up our whare."
Waititi added: "There's a process in play that has been set by the national council, not the national executive. The national council is made up of all the electorates, and they have four members on there, and they've made a decision, and we've got a process in place."
Asked how he felt about potentially sitting beside the MPs in Parliament, Waititi said: "There are people in that house that I don't like sitting next to at all. This is not about who I like to sit next to. This is about ensuring that we continue to be the voice of our people."
The Waiariki MP said he would meet with the National Iwi Chairs Forum later today, which last week called for a hui to help resolve the party's internal challenges.
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"It's good that the iwi chairs feel that they have some ownership of this movement."
Waititi likened the party's struggles to storms weathered by ancestors who traversed oceans and fought in world wars.
"We were going through a reset. Resets don't happen overnight, and resets will continue as we continue to build the momentum of our Māori voice here."
The latest salvo in the war of words on both sides has caused the party’s inner turmoil to spill into public view once again.
Eru Kapa-Kingi last week accused TMP of a "dictatorship model" – now the party has hit back against him and his mother, their own MP Mariameno Kapa-King. (Source: 1News)
It is the latest conflict after months of bad blood, after allegations made by former party executive Eru Kapa-Kingi of a "dictatorship model" by Te Pāti Māori's leadership.
Asked if he would rule out working with the party, Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said: "Te Pāti Māori have got some real issues that they need to work through.
"They're a long way away from playing a constructive role in Parliament and in any future government. They really need to sort themselves out. But I'd also remind people that four years ago, the National Party was tearing itself apart, and now they're in government."
Tamihere on offensive after calls for him to quit
The executive of TPM's Te Tai Tonga electorate committee, which selected Tākuta Ferris as its candidate, began a petition for Tamihere’s resignation yesterday.
The petition, which was posted to Instagram, was also liked by Ngarewa-Packer. The electorate had previously abstained from suspending Kapa-Kingi at the National Council hui in October. It later called for a vote of no confidence in Tamihere.
On Facebook, the party president replied later in the day with a 1335-word post.
“Instead of endeavouring to destroy our ability to end this Government’s reign next year, we invite Kapa-Kingi and Ferris to do the honourable thing," Tamihere wrote.
He said the MPs' conduct is “not based on mana, is not based on integrity and honesty or on principle. Their conduct is based on greed, avarice and entitlement”.
John Tamihere says the party is focused on a reset after the election of new MP Oriini Kaipara. (Source: 1News)
Speaking to 1News yesterday, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said Tamihere’s post was "much of the same to be completely honest".
"I’m not disturbed by it."
She reiterated her message, “it’s time for change”.
When asked if she would take Tamihere's advice and resign, Kapa-Kingi said: "The only way I leave this role is when Te Tai Tokerau says it's time to move on."
"I was elected and [Tamihere] was not,” she said.
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