Labour minister outside Cabinet Meka Whaitiri jumps to Māori Party in shock move

Meka Whaitiri. Photo / Supplied

Labour minister Meka Whaitiri is expected to resign and stand as a candidate for the Māori Party in the upcoming election.

Te Ao Māori News has been told Whaitiri, a minister outside Cabinet, will make a formal announcement on Wednesday at Waipatu Marae in Hastings.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who is in London for the coronation, said that he has left a message for Whaitiri after reports that she is due to resign from the Labour Party - and stand for the Māori Party instead.

”I haven’t had a conversation with Meka Whaitiri yet,” he told TVNZ this morning.

Hipkins said he first became aware of what he described as “speculation” on his arrival in the UK.

”I’ve left a message for Meka. I would expect if there was anything significant happening in that area, that she would give me a call and let me know that.”

He said he last spoke with Whaitiri about three weeks ago.

A spokesperson for Acting Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said last night: “We’re aware of the media speculation. We have nothing further to add at this point.”

Whaitiri entered Parliament in 2013 by winning the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti byelection but was stripped of her ministerial responsibilities in 2018 over an altercation with her press secretary and allegations of bullying.

After the 2020 general election, Whaitiri was reappointed as a minister but overlooked for promotion this year when Hipkins became Prime Minister, watching from the sidelines as Willie Jackson, Kiri Allan, and Willow Jean Prime were shifted up the Labour rankings.

It’s understood Whaitiri will replace Heather Skipworth as the Māori Party candidate for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.

As a Labour candidate, Whaitiri won her seat handily in 2020 with 13,642 votes, with Skipworth second at 7597 and the Greens’ Elizabeth Kerekere on 2080.

- Additional reporting: Staff reporter