Maori leadership open to challenge

Hone Harawira, Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Maori Party leader Pita Sharples has said he and co-leader Tariana Turia are open to putting their leadership up for contest in the wake of public criticism from MP Hone Harawira.

Mr Harawira called into question the Maori Party's support for the National Government's proposed Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill in a newspaper article on the weekend.

An official complaint over his comments has been put forward by Maori Party whip Te Ururoa Flavell and backed by all the party's other MPs.

The Maori Party leadership's hopes of dealing quickly with the complaint received a setback this morning as the committee for Mr Harawira's Tai Tokerau electorate asked for more time to consider the matter.

Party leaders were pressing for a hui tomorrow to deal with the complaint.

However constitutional law expert Mai Chen, who is advising the party on the matter, confirmed the electorate committee had asked for more time to deal with the issue and the hui tomorrow would not now proceed.

The discussion of the issue at the electorate level is required under the party's constitution and if it cannot be resolve there it will go to the party's Disciplinary and Disputes Committee which has the power to expel Mr Harawira from the party.

Asked on Radio New Zealand this morning whether Mr Harawira may want the party leadership, Dr Sharples said "he may well do".

He said he and co-leader Tariana Turia were open to the possibility of contesting the party leadership and were confident the party would re-elect them.

But he would not further discuss the complaint against Mr Harawira, referring all questions to Maori Party President Pem Bird.

Any other comment would have to wait until after party leaders and officials had met with Mr Harawira, he said.

"It's a question of tactics, it's a question of courtesy, it's a question of working as a team and so on."

'Strong coalition relationship'

Dr Sharples said the Maori Party had a strong coalition relationship with National, despite disagreement on issues such as crime and justice legislation.

He did not want to guarantee future alignment to any political party, saying others will have to decide whether they can work with the Maori Party's founding principals.

"The Maori Party has to stand on its own two feet.

"We're wide open. It's not about who we will work with. It's who will work with us. It's a question of who wants to go with us, rather than who we will go with."

Prime Minister John Key shared Dr Sharples' assessment of the coalition relationship between National and the Maori Party.

"All I can tell you is in the two and a bit years we have now worked with the Maori Party we have enjoyed a very solid relationship with them."

He rebuffed Mr Harawira's criticism of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill, saying it allowed Maori their "day in court" to decide ownership rights on the foreshore and seabed.

Harawira surprised by complaint

Mr Harawira told the Herald yesterday his comments in the Sunday Star-Times 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 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."