Tau Henare in gun over leaked report

National MP Tau Henare faces censure after breaching parliamentary rules to release a draft report making damning criticisms of Te Puni Kokiri.

The report was due to be signed off and released by Parliament's Maori affairs select committee yesterday, but was not, after the committee was collapsed because it lacked a quorum.

Mr Henare said too few Labour MPs attended, a sign of contempt for the committee.

This had strengthened his resolve to release the report - a move which exposes him to a breach of privilege complaint.

The report, speculated on by the Herald yesterday, said Te Puni Kokiri "appears to have moved its focus and resources away from its monitoring role, to the extent that this role is no longer recognised as an outcome in its statement of intent or measured as an output in its annual report."

"We are concerned that TPK is now failing to meet a fundamental legislative requirement."

If found guilty of a breach, Mr Henare could face a range of punishments, including being censured, suspended or even expelled from Parliament.

Mr Henare said: "At the end of the day, if I get nailed, I'll apologise."

He said his National colleagues knew and approved of his actions.

Committee chairman Dave Hereora said he would lay a complaint.

"I have no choice, it's a breach of standing orders."

Mr Hereora said it was ironic that National Maori affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee had forced the collapse of the committee yesterday, preventing release of the report.

Two Labour MPs had been at tangi yesterday and been replaced by another MP.

But National MP Georgina te Heuheu had given an assurance the replacement MP could leave without National collapsing the committee - before Mr Brownlee arrived and overrode her.

He would not otherwise have allowed the MP to leave, Mr Hereora said.

The release of the report would be reconsidered when the committee met next week and he could not discuss it until it was, he said.

However it was important to point out the report was a draft and had not yet been approved for release.

TPK chief executive Leith Comer had confirmed the agency had moved resources from monitoring to other "forward-looking monitoring" areas, striking a balance.

Mr Comer had argued the Ministry of Maori Development Act gave TPK guidance rather than prescription when it came to monitoring.

The committee report disagreed, saying the law was clear and either had to be followed or changed.