Harawira set for party showdown

Hone Harawira says the Maori Party leaders' actions are unacceptable. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Maori Party firebrand Hone Harawira is squaring off against his leaders before a meeting tomorrow where they will thrash out their deep divisions over the party's direction.

Unless those differences are resolved the party will hold a second disciplinary meeting next week which may result in Mr Harawira being expelled from the party.

Long-simmering tensions between Mr Harawira and the party's leadership came to a head yesterday when party whip Te Ururoa Flavell made an official complaint about Mr Harawira's public criticism of the party's support for the National Government's Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill and social and environmental policies.

Mr Harawira said his party had become too wrapped up in its coalition with National and that many people had told him they felt it was coming off the rails.

But although he expressed some contrition when he ran foul of the party's leadership over his "white m*****f***ers" comments in 2009, Mr Harawira was unrepentant yesterday.

He told the Herald his comments, made in a column in the Sunday Star Times newspaper, were nothing he hadn't said before and his views were shared by rank-and-file Maori Party members, particularly in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate where he has strong support.

He said he was surprised to learn of the complaint - supported by co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, and MP Rahui Katene - from the media.

The way the complaint was handled was "pretty nasty", he said.

"The democratic thing to do is at least notify me formally of a complaint. That still hasn't happened."

Party president Pem Bird said a meeting between Mr Harawira and Mr Flavell and the chairman of Mr Harawira's Te Tai Tokerau electorate council was being arranged for tomorrow.

The meeting, to be chaired by party co-vice-president Ken Mair, would be private and confidential "to enhance the chances of successfully resolving the issues in the complaint".

If it could not be resolved tomorrow at the electorate council stage the matter would proceed to the party's disciplinary and disputes committee as soon as possible, probably next week.

Constitutional law expert Mai Chen, who is advising the party, has said that committee could cancel or suspend Mr Harawira's membership.

Although Mr Bird downplayed any animosity between Mr Harawira and his parliamentary colleagues and indicated he and the party leadership wanted to resolve the matter tomorrow, Mr Harawira regarded the action against him as "unacceptable" and an insult to the majority of party members who shared his views.

He had yet to be formally advised or invited to tomorrow's meeting and hadn't bothered to read the complaint, emailed to him late on Tuesday night.

He said didn't see it until after Mr Bird had told the media next morning.

He said that was an unacceptable "back-door" approach.

"When an internal complaint is received and the president immediately decides to go public with it without consultation with affected parties, that's deliberate. It's a public attack on my standing as a member of Parliament."

Mr Harawira said he'd been elected as Tai Tokerau's Maori Party MP and saw no reason why that relationship should end. He expected to speak to the Tai Tokerau electorate committee last night and would abide by any decision it made.