Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has launched a new political party to contest the election, splitting from Te Pāti Māori after months of bitter conflict.
Her new party, named Te Tai Tokerau Party, will contest the election on "kaupapa grounded in tino rangatiratanga, local decision-making and mana mokopuna".
"This is for our communities from Te Atatū to Te Rerenga Wairua, along both coasts – and for everyone across Aotearoa who believes our future must be shaped by the people, not imposed from the top down," she said in a media release.
Elected in 2023, Kapa-Kingi was the MP for Te Tai Tokerau, which covers the top end of the North Island – from Cape Reinga, through Northland, and parts of Auckland.
Speaking to The Hui, she rejected suggestions she had been forced into the move because she could not get her way within Te Pāti Māori.
"That's not the case," she said. "From my point of view and that of our people, it's time to move forward in a really proactive and definitive way."
The move comes after a turbulent period for Te Pāti Māori, which has seen its support fall amid internal dispute, infighting, and court action over Kapa-Kingi's membership.
She was reinstated as a party member in the High Court in March after being expelled last year. But Kapa-Kingi said an internal process had stalled.
"Great decision from the court, and waiting for a reinstatement process, which hasn't occurred in any real, substantial way. I'm not waiting. We can't wait. We are the ones we've been waiting for — Te Tai Tokerau — that's why we're here."
The High Court determined that Kapa-Kingi should be reinstated into the party. (Source: 1News)
Kapa-Kingi said she had set a series of conditions for her involvement in the party - including a change in leadership, the reinstatement of Tākuta Ferris, and apologies.
"Nothing has come from me putting those positions clearly, plainly, respectfully through the caucus, and nothing has changed from that."
When referring to leadership, Kapa-Kingi said she was referring to the party president, John Tamihere, not co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
In Te Tai Tokerau, the one-term MP will face Labour's Willow-Jean Prime and the Greens' Hūhana Lyndon in what's shaping up to be a competitive race.
TPM says it will run against Kapa-Kingi
Te Pāti Māori responded to the Te Tai Tokerau MP's move this afternoon, saying it acknowledged the announcement and wished Kapa-Kingi well.
"Te ao Māori has always carried many voices, many rohe, many whakapapa, and many expressions of mana motuhake. We respect the right of whānau, hapū, iwi, rohe and candidates to determine their own political pathway," a party spokesperson said.
They said the party "will contest all seven Māori electorates," with "five confirmed candidates in Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Oriini Kaipara, Rawiri Waititi, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Haley Maxwell, with our full team to be announced in due course".
Kingi Kiriona will contest the seat held by Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke in this year’s general election. (Source: 1News)
"Our movement is bigger than any one seat, candidate, or moment," the statement said.
"There is no one-term Government without Te Pāti Māori."
'Our responsibility spans across the motu'
Kapa-Kingi said that while "our foundation is Te Tai Tokerau. Our responsibility spans across the motu ... For too long, our people have been asked to fit into systems that were not designed by us, for us, or with us in mind.
"Te Tai Tokerau Party is about saying our communities have the wisdom, the data, the leadership and the strength to shape their own political future."
Speaking in her interview with The Hui, Kapa-Kingi signalled she would be open to working across the political spectrum after the November 7 election, including with National and Christopher Luxon, if it served Te Tai Tokerau.
Asked whether she would pick up the phone if Luxon called seeking her support to form a government, Kapa-Kingi said: "Imagine having Te Tai Tokerau at that table ... of course I'd have to be open to that conversation."
P Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is challenging the party’s decision to expel her amidst claims of a dictatorship and misused funds. (Source: 1News)
She said her cousin, NZ First MP Shane Jones, was someone she had a "respectful relationship with", and indicated she was open to conversations with ACT leader David Seymour as well. "Who knows what's possible?" Kapa-Kingi said.
More details to come, MP says
Kapa-Kingi said she hoped the party would spark a broader conversation across Aotearoa about what self-determined politics could look like for other rohe or regions.
“We hope other rohe are inspired to build independent political powerhouses for their people across the motu,” she said.
“Building our Hawaiki looks like working together with other rohe to achieve mutual interests for the long-term wellbeing of mokopuna, while protecting our specific mana and identity. Me mahi ngātahi ka tika."
The announcement, made today via a media release, follows a prolonged period of internal conflict within Te Pāti Māori.
Further details on Te Tai Tokerau Party's leadership structure and policy priorities are expected to be "released in due course", according to the statement.
Kapa-Kingi was suspended and expelled from Te Pāti Māori on November 10 last year after the party's national council alleged she had misused funds and brought the party into disrepute. Te Tai Tonga MP Takūta Ferris was also expelled at the time.
Her son, former party executive Eru Kapa-Kingi, had earlier accused the party leadership of running a "dictatorship model".
Kapa-Kingi challenged her expulsion in the High Court, where Justice Paul Radich ruled in March that her suspension and expulsion had been "unlawful under the party's constitution" and ordered her reinstatement.
Te Pāti Māori's internal troubles have been attributed to Tamihere, who has come in for criticism from some wings of the party.
Speaking to Whakaata Māori last week, Tamihere said: "The gift of understanding what's going on in Te Tai Tokerau is not mine at the moment; it's incumbent on her."
1News understands Hauraki-Waikato MP Maipi-Clarke had also recently been considering her own future within the party.
— additional reporting by 1News Political Producer Tom Day
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