Former Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has not ruled out standing as Te Pāti Māori's candidate in Te Tai Tokerau, but says it'll be at his wife's blessing.
Harawira, who held the Te Tai Tokerau seat from 2005 to 2014, told 1News he had been working to restart party branches, saying there was only one left in the entire electorate.
"My job was to go around and restart all of the branches, get people committed to working for the candidate, to working for the party," he said.
He would not confirm or deny whether he planned to seek the candidacy, saying the decision rested with the people and with his whānau.
Harawira said he and his wife had been weighing the commitment against responsibilities at home, including caring for mokopuna.
Asked directly if he would put his name forward, Harawira told 1News the decision would come down to whether he could balance whānau with the demands of the role.
"If my wife says I can, well, then I'll put my name forward. If she says I can't, then I'm staying home with the mokos," he said.
"Whoever's the voice for Te Pāti Māori, I do whatever I can to support them.
Te Tai Tokerau Party will contest the election on "kaupapa grounded in tino rangatiratanga, local decision-making and mana mokopuna". (Source: 1News)
"If you're going to do this, you dedicate 100% from the time you put your hand up until the election."
The 71-year-old, a prominent activist who has campaigned on Treaty issues and land rights for decades, originally entered Parliament as a Te Pāti Māori MP before splitting to form the Mana Party in 2011. He stood unsuccessfully for Mana in 2014 and 2017.
The seat in Te Tai Tokerau has become a crowded contest ahead of November's election.
Sitting MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi announced this week she was officially splitting from Te Pāti Māori to form her own Te Tai Tokerau Party, after months of conflict with the party that included an expulsion the High Court ruled unlawful.
Te Pāti Māori has confirmed it will stand a candidate in the seat. Labour's Willow-Jean Prime and the Greens' Hūhana Lyndon are also contesting it.
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