Harawira finds support for new party

Hone Harawira. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Detractors trying to annoy Hone Harawira by suggesting redneck names for the new political party he may form are wasting their time.

The independent Te Tai Tokerau MP is amused by many of these names - it's humour he enjoys.

"Here's a good one - Association for Racial Stereotyping and Etiquette, ARSE for short," he said with a guffaw.

Mr Harawira recently attended meetings in Rotorua, Gisborne and Palmerston North to assess support for a new party,

He said the hui were well attended, and he was expecting up to 100 people to be at a meeting he has lined up in Auckland on the weekend.

"The national mood is for another party with an independent Maori voice. No one sees that in the Maori Party any more."

Te Tai Tokerau electorate officials had given him until April 30 to decide whether he would be forming a new party or standing alone in the North.

"I'm grateful for their support. They have given me until the end of the month to decide, then they want to know what will be happening so they can prepare for the election. We must retain Te Tai Tokerau."

Mr Harawira said all the meetings he had attended had been called by disaffected Maori Party members.

Some Pakeha and Labour Party supporters had turned up, but most attendees were Maori Party members.

He said they had not liked the way the party had treated him and that members had not been consulted before his departure.

They did not like the Marine and Coastal Area legislation, on which 72 Maori organisations had made submissions with only one supporting the new laws.

They thought the Maori Party was too close to National and didn't like the support for Government GST increases, "pathetic" wage increases and dole cuts when there were no jobs.

"And they don't see their Maori Party MPs any more."

An online competition to choose the name of his future party began on Mr Harawira's website yesterday, with suggestions - Tino Rangatiratanga, Mokopuna and Mana among them - and a section for viewers to give their opinions, serious or not.

"Keep them coming," Mr Harawira said. "I have laughed at a lot of this stuff. I'm quite comfortable with it."