Support for Harawira growing as chiefs meet

Calls for the Maori Party leadership to allow MP Hone Harawira to stay are growing in the lead-up to a critical hui of the party's national council tomorrow.

More members are now sending strong messages to the Maori Party co-leaders and president not to eject Mr Harawira. He has also had support from some who are not closely connected to the party.

Among those speaking out is leading Treaty lawyer and Auckland University Law School professor David Williams, who wrote to the party leadership asking it not to cut ties with Mr Harawira.

The party branch in the Tamaki Makaurau electorate has also added its support for Mr Harawira to that given by his own electorate, Te Tai Tokerau.

Mr Harawira is half way through the fortnight he was given to consider his future with the party and talk to Ngapuhi elders. He was asked to resign after an offensive email defending a trip he took to Paris, which attracted more than 400 complaints to the Race Relations Commissioner.

The national council will meet in Otaki to discuss what to do when Mr Harawira fronts up again at the end of the fortnight.

It is expected to consider whether it should force him out if he refuses to stand down at the end of that fortnight and weigh up the risk of a backlash if they go against party members' wishes.

Tamaki Makaurau chairman Eru Thompson said the electorate committee and party members met party co-leader Pita Sharples on Wednesday night to express full support for Mr Harawira. It asked Dr Sharples to convey that back to the other leaders.

"There were some issues over the way things have been handled, but in terms of Hone, there is total support and everybody made that very clear last night."

Titewhai Harawira was among those at the meeting, which Mr Thompson said was very well attended.

She reiterated her concern about the way the leadership had dealt with her son, saying the co-leaders had still not met with Mr Harawira.

Dr Williams wrote to the leaders of the party, saying a significant number of Pakeha who were supportive of the Maori Party's overall aims were "aghast" at the possibility that Mr Harawira would go.

He said Mr Harawira was the person the party chose in 2005 and 2008 and he had done extremely well on a range of issues important to Maori and Pakeha.

"Give Hone Harawira his voice back as a Maori Party MP and let him speak what needs to be spoken."

At least two electorates have called for the national council meeting to be abandoned because it might impinge on the process Mr Harawira is going through with Ngapuhi kaumatua and kuia.

Mr Thompson said he was writing to party president Whatarangi Winiata to ask that the meeting be delayed.

"We don't have an agenda, we don't even know what the meeting has been called for. I've asked that the meeting be called off until such stage we know what it's all about."

It echoes calls by Mr Harawira's Te Tai Tokerau electorate, which wrote to the leadership this week to complain about tomorrow's hui.