Paula Bennett: Did Meka Whaitiri leave Labour or did Labour leave her?

Meka Whaitiri, left, with Maori Party MP Heather Te Au-Skipworth at Waipatu Marae,Hastings. Whaitiri is set to stand as a candidate for the Maori Party in the upcoming election following her resignation from the Labour Party. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Leaving your political party as a Member of Parliament is a big deal. I couldn’t leave National and there were times that I didn’t like who they were.

My beliefs and commitment ran deeper than that. I knew it was a point in time, or a point in leadership and it would pass. I believed in the cause and values of National, of course, I didn’t agree with everything all of the time, but it was bigger than me.

I get leaving on something absolutely fundamental to what you hold true to yourself. That you literally can’t sleep at night because the values that made you join your political party no longer hold true.

Tariana Turia couldn’t accept Labour’s stance on the foreshore and seabed legislation. In her mind it stripped Māori of natural justice.

She made her decision on principle, and said, “At the end of the day, it came down to a question of integrity and I had to act for my people.” She tried to instigate change from within Labour before leaving and made her feelings very clear.

But we haven’t heard that from Meka Whaitiri. It doesn’t seem that there is a huge issue that has led her to leave Labour and join Te Pāti Māori. She just says it is the right move for her. Did she leave Labour or did Labour leave her?

Meka Whaitiri at Waipatu Marae, Hastings. Photo / Te Pāti Māori

One of the fundamental differences between Labour and National is the way that they treat independent thinkers. Labour was born from a union movement, it believes in the collective and there isn’t room for people to do it differently. Think Louisa Wall. She, too, was a strong, opinionated Māori woman who was effectively ostracised by Labour for not going with the flow and toeing the line.

National has people from all different backgrounds and (much to its sometimes frustration) has members with very different opinions. I remember John Key saying to me once when he was leader that he effectively led a group of franchises. Once when we were discussing the anti-smacking bill in caucus, I wanted to vote for it and the majority of my caucus felt very strongly that we should vote against it.

After I had put my case and told them how strongly I felt about it (quite unnerving, as I had only been an MP for a short time) the experienced MPs stood up and effectively said they thought I was bonkers but that they respected that I should be able to vote the way I wanted to. I was really grateful – they didn’t agree but they also didn’t believe I should be bullied into voting against it if I felt that strongly.

Meka describes her move to Te Pāti Māori as going home and the decision to leave as a difficult one. I am sure it was but I imagine this is not the Labour Party that she originally joined and she has not been able to contribute the way she wanted to. In the last couple of years we have seen the cracks showing from people like Louisa Wall, Gaurav Sharma and now Meka, all of whom were disillusioned with Labour. Will there be more?

Paula Bennett is a former Deputy Prime Minister and National Party politician who now works at Bayleys Real Estate as national director-customer engagement.