Harawira's blessing from 'scary' supporter

Fuimaono Ioana asks Hone Harawira a question during his State of the Nation address. Photo / Greg Bowker

A Samoan woman who served a prison sentence after bashing an adolescent in her care - a case documented by a current affairs show in the 1990s - is one woman who scares Hone Harawira.

Fuimaono Ioana, 57, attended Mr Harawira's state of the nation speech.

Usually, the Mana Party leader's personality fills a room but Mrs Ioana rivalled him for spectacle yesterday.

Walking into the Ratana church, she drew laughs from the crowd when she pointed to her 6-month-old "Maori moko" who she joked had to help his Samoan cousins.

Once the meeting got going she interrupted the flow of speeches to lead a hymn to bless Mr Harawira.

He let it run and afterwards joked to journalists that the grandmother scared him.

"Fuimaono scares me - she scares [Mana Mangere candidate] James Papali'i and she scares me."

In 1995 the Otara resident was sentenced to 18 months in jail for repeatedly punching, slapping and kicking a teenage boy for running away from the rehabilitation home she managed. Graphic YouTube film has given the original 60 Minutes documentary a new life.

When Mr Harawira was asked if he knew about Mrs Ioana's past he said he did, but he wasn't going to judge her when he had a past including facing assault charges.

"We all have a past and hopefully we all have a future as well. Far be it from me to be critical of people."

Yesterday, Mrs Ioana told the Herald she had served her jail term with her "head held high" but still argued her methods would probably decrease crime by giving young people the "hard medicine," they needed.

"Unless someone can tell me the statistics of hard crime has gone down, nobody can tell me I was wrong."

Mrs Ioana now advocates for overstayers and their children and has been defended in the past by Auckland Mayor Len Brown.