Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Te Pāti Māori's co-leader Rawiri Waititi is blaming two of his MPs for turmoil within the party, accusing them of going "rogue" and trying to roll the leadership.
On Monday, party president John Tamihere called on Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris to "do the honourable thing" and step down.
But neither MP looks like leaving of their own accord. In a statement, Kapa-Kingi told RNZ she was "not going anywhere". Ferris has yet to publicly respond, but his electorate branch is calling for Tamihere instead to resign.
Arriving at Parliament on Tuesday morning, Waititi told media the party's national council now had a "process in play" regarding whether to expel Kapa-Kingi and Ferris from the party.
"That's not a decision for me. That is a decision for the electorates. We've taken it back to the people."
The party's national council includes representatives from all six electorates held by the MPs.
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Asked whether the party might invoke the waka-jumping provision to eject the two MPs from Parliament altogether, Waititi said their electorate seats had been "determined by their voters".
"They are MPs of those particular electorates," he said.
Asked for clarification later in the day, Waititi said the waka-jumping option had not been considered "at this time" but remained a possibility.
"We're allowing our national council to work through the constitution and we need to be able to allow them to do that without having to deal with that through the media."
Waititi said he stood by Tamihere as president and pinned blame for the internal ructions on "allegations and two rogue MPs" gearing up for a leadership coup.
"All in good time you will find that out," he said.
Waititi confirmed he would meet with representatives from the Iwi Chairs Forum later today to "solidify the kaupapa".
"We're cleaning up our whare," he said. "Our tipuna traversed the oceans to get here and many storms, and we will get through this.
"We will go through a reset. Resets don't happen overnight and resets will continue as we continue to build the momentum of our Māori voice here."
Fellow co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer later told reporters at Parliament it was an "honour" to meet with the iwi leaders.
"I know that it's been disruptive, and I know that we've made the headlines for the reasons we don't want to, but it's actually been really great to know that we are owned and they feel aligned and they feel whanaungatanga [kinship] to us to be able to turn up. That's an honour."
Tākuta Ferris. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Iwi Chairs Forum spokesperson Bayden Barber told RNZ on Monday iwi leaders were going to "give it our best shot" to reconcile the differences.
Tamihere avoided reporters on his way into Parliament on Tuesday morning, ducking into an apartment building's parking lot.
Earlier, he told RNZ's Morning Report the party's leadership would "very shortly" consider whether to expel Kapa-Kingi and Ferris.
When asked directly if he still wanted the two MPs in the party, Tamihere said: "Not if they continue to be rogue."
In a statement to RNZ, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said Tamihere did not speak for her Tai Tokerau electorate.
"The people voted me as an electorate member, I'm proud to say, and therefore I'm not going anywhere. I have a job to do and I plan to continue to do it best way I know how - show up, prepare and remember who you represent."
Asked for comment, Ferris said only that his electorate's executive would be sending out a statement "in due course".
Speaking before a caucus meeting on Tuesday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins reiterated his calls for Te Pāti Māori 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."
Senior Labour MP Willie Jackson, a long-time friend of Tamihere, said he would not be taking sides.
"We're sitting back ... and just watching how this rolls out."
Jackson said Labour would not be welcoming any defectors. He said the party was prepared in the case of any by-elections.
"We would be irresponsible if we weren't ready ... given all the talk coming out of Te Pāti Māori."
ACT leader David Seymour said Labour had a big problem because it needed Te Pāti Māori's numbers to take power.
"They've got more coup-papa than kaupapa."
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