Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri focuses on electorate after reshuffle

Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri believes she will make it back into Cabinet. Photo / Ian Cooper

Meka Whaitiri believes the door is not closed on her returning to a cabinet position.

The Government's major cabinet reshuffle was tipped to be a comeback for the former minister, who was stood down from her portfolios, including Customs, late last year after she was accused of assaulting a staff member.

At the announcement last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was "not the right time", giving Whaitiri hope.

Speaking to Hawke's Bay Today, the Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP says she met Ardern before the announcement, who acknowledged "the hard work I've been doing".

"So, what I've got to do is take the challenge up to keep working on the things that she outlined at the beginning. It's not my time now, I don't believe it will be no forever."

She says the last 10 months have been "intensive" as she has focused on working on herself, and continues to do so, including engaging with counselling, anger management, cultural advisers and former labour ministers, whom she meets regularly.

"I've been working on the things that I can control like better communication with staff and just trying to be a better person and learn from my mistakes so I am acknowledging that I could have done better but I don't want to go back into that path because it's time to close and move on."

But she has also been conscious of not losing sight of her passion for the job.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't passionate about the job. Politics is a hard environment and sometimes you can get a tad carried away and I wouldn't be the first one to admit that but at some point, you've got to remind yourself why you're doing this; Is the price a price you're prepared to pay to stay there? and what are you getting out of it?

"So I come back to the fundamentals - the people I represent put their faith in me to advocate, to bring opportunities to them and where they live."

During this time, she has done work in the housing space, as well as advocate on behalf of the family at the centre of the recent Oranga Tamariki uplift controversy.

On Friday, she met with about 30 members of her family, as well as those in her electorate at a gathering at her office in Hastings.

She says there was a "sense of relief from them" that she is "actually fine".

Since Whaitiri was first elected in 2013, after predecessor Parekura Horomia died, she has made it clear she would only work a maximum of 10 years in Parliament.

However, after the meeting, Whaitiri says she was told it is "not her decision".

"I have said that from the time I came in and I continue to say it. I said 10 years because it's hard yakka, it is so hard and I'm not afraid of hard work, I just think you should give someone else the opportunity but I needed to give myself 10 years to be a good MP."

Whaitiri says she will "stand again next year", but that will be her last.