Harawira willing to repay money over Paris trip

Hone Harawira said Phil Goff should be shot over the passing of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. Photo / NZPA

Maverick Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says he is willing to pay back some of the taxpayers' money used to fund him attending parliamentary business which he skipped away from to see Paris.

His decision to leave Brussels and instead take his wife to Paris for the day and his subsequent abusive defence of his actions in an email, today culminated in a partial apology.

In his email to former Waitangi Tribunal director Buddy Mikaere, Mr Harawira had said his decision was justified because "white motherf...rs" had been "raping" New Zealand for years and he was not beholden to white puritanical "bullshit".

At a press conference at the University of Auckland Waipapa Marae this afternoon, Mr Harawira said he knew his words were wrong minutes after sending the email.

Mr Harawira has apologised for the language that he used in an email but not the sentiment.

He said there was no pressure from Maori Party leadership to apologise and his apology was genuine.

Mr Harawira said a meeting later this week with party leadership could result in disciplinary action.

He said he had the support of his electorate of Te Tai Tokerau who had voted for a "rebel to be their spokesman".

Mr Harawira said his wife saw the email shortly after it was sent and told him that he should not have sent it.

"What I should have done is ask her to look at it first before I sent it," he said.

Asked if she was angry, Mr Harawira said: "love conquers all".

John Key said today he felt people were a bit sick of the "Hone Harawira sideshow" and there were more important things for him to worry about.

"Firstly his comments were offensive last week. I think New Zealanders were offended by them and so in one sense they will be pleased that there is an apology of sorts," Mr Key said.

"I will leave them to judge the merits of that apology."

Mr Key did not accept Labour's criticism that he was not being tough enough about Mr Harawira.

"He's not my MP. He is an MP for the Maori Party. My relationship is with the leadership of the Maori Party," Mr Key said.

Mr Harawira found himself embroiled in further controversy this morning, when he went on Radio Waatea with host Willie Jackson.

While making a partial apology, Mr Harawira also said Labour leader Phil Goff was a "bastard" who should be "lined up against a wall and shot" for Labour's passage of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Mr Goff laughed off the comments and said Mr Harawira had failed to address any of the issues.

"It is a silly comment. I can't take that sort of thing seriously, but what the public of New Zealand are looking for was an apology, an apology for ripping off the taxpayer, an apology for abusing people in racist and obscene language," Mr Goff said.

"There is no contrition there, he is proud of ripping the taxpayer off and he genuinely believes that white people are to blame for all of his problems."

There was a need for leadership from the Maori Party and Prime Minister John Key to take action as know no apology would do.

"If he apologises now that will be phoney because he actually believes that every problem he has is down somehow to Pakeha people in this country. That is simply a nonsense."

Mr Goff said he did not think his father would appreciate him being called a bastard, but the shooting comment was stupid.

"I have been abused by better people than Hone."

Mr Harawira told Radio Waatea that Mr Goff was out of line for saying he should be suspended from politics.

"The cheek of the bastard. If I should be suspended for swearing, him and his mates should be," he said.

"I'm saying to Phil Goff `beware mate, beware before you start throwing stones'."