Local Party faithful back their man

John Tamihere will go to Wellington today with the full backing of his Tamaki Makaurau Labour Party members.

A meeting of electorate strategists, rank-and-file Labour supporters, kaumatua and kuia passed a motion unanimously backing Mr Tamihere. "We continue to have faith in our MP," it said.

The hour-long meeting, which was punctuated by the singing of waiata and laughter, also pledged its support for the Labour Party.

Whether the two can be reconciled will be revealed today when Mr Tamihere faces the Labour Party caucus and some colleagues he has called "queer", "a tosser" and "smarmy".

Speakers at Mangere's Nga Tapuwae Community Facility said Labour needed an MP like Mr Tamihere in Parliament.

Labour Party president Mike Williams was told that Mr Tamihere had grass-roots support in the electorate, which he holds with a 9444-vote majority.

Supporter Chris Wilson said: "He's got a bit of work to do but we still support him 100 per cent."

He said that support stretched outside Auckland to Mr Tamihere's own tribal area, Ngati Porou, on the East Coast.

Afterwards, Mr Tamihere left by the back door to avoid the waiting media.