MMP a winning formula for Maori

By Audrey Young

Tau Henare blithely boasted this week that he has "screwed" $170 million out of the National Government for various measures for Maori.

To put the amount in perspective, that is the same value as each crown settlement with Tainui and Ngai Tahu, compensation for grievances dating back more than a century.

And that makes either Mr Henare's gains momentous in the 14 months he and Mauri Pacific held the balance of power, or it makes the historic tribal settlements rather piffling.

It is also highly arguable whether extracting as much money as possible for Maori at the cabinet table is the way to win Maori voters' hearts.

The Minister of Maori Affairs has always been blunt about using power under MMP to exercise "leverage" in the cabinet for Maori.

Polls suggest that no amount of money will save Mr Henare up north in Te Tai Tokerau, despite his 8418-vote majority, and that Mauri Pacific colleagues Tukoroirangi Morgan (Te Tai Hauauru) and Rana Waitai (Ikaroa-Rawhiti) are goners, too.

They have not been forgiven for their role as key players in the souring of an MMP dream for Maori.

Last election delivered Maori more potential influence than ever before. The balance of power resided in the party with all five Maori seats, New Zealand First, and in the 15 Maori MPs across all parties.

Mr Henare's cocky, in-your-face style marked him and his colleagues out in Parliament. Their uncompromising staunchness created tension in NZ First, so that when the coalition came under pressure for other reasons they peeled away easily.

Emeritus Professor Ranginui Walker reflects the view that they had something, then lost it.

"The best thing those Maori MPs ever did was to say, 'We're the tight five,' says Professor Walker. "But they became loosies, and we know that loosies don't win the game.

"That was a disappointment to the Maori people, because they really threw the Maori people's vote back in their faces by splitting like that."

Disillusioned or not, most Maori still support MMP.

Some are exploiting it second time round in previously unthought of ways to gain as much power as possible.

Tuariki Delamere, the conservative ex-NZ First MP, is now cooperating with Tame Iti and the leftist Mana Maori Movement. The aim is to get them both elected, him for Te Tawharau in Waiariki and Mr Iti on the top of the Mana Maori list, which serves as an umbrella banner for Te Tawharau as well.

"It is nakedly opportunistic," he agrees. "If we can get more Maori in, so much the better. I don't care how we do it."

One scenario could see Labour taking three of the six Maori seats (Dover Samuels in Te Tai Tokerau, John Tamihere in Hauraki and Nanaia Mahuta in Te Tai Hauauru), NZ First's Tutekawa Wyllie holding Te Tai Tonga, Mr Delamere holding Waiariki and Independent Derek Fox taking Ikaroa-Rawhiti.

NZ First will probably make a strong showing in the north, where support for its leader, Winston Peters, is still strong. Mr Samuels acknowledges that.

Ironically, a good run by NZ First's replacement for Mr Henare may be Mr Henare's only hope of return. If NZ First's novice candidate, policeman Anaru George, picks up ground, it will probably be pared from Mr Samuels' healthy lead, leaving Mr Henare coming up the middle.

With an entirely fresh look, NZ First has three women among its six Maori-seat candidates, including Hauraki contender Josie Anderson, the party's top woman now that Suzanne Bruce has resigned. But none can expect to be elected.

Questions of betrayal and loyalty feature high in the rhetoric of Labour and NZ First.

For the likes of Mr Delamere, policy barely rates a mention. Like Mauri Pacific and Mr Fox, the key selling point is that they are outside main parties and not subject to their pressures.

Marae-DigiPoll surveys suggest that land and fisheries treaty settlements are not election issues among Maori voters. As with Pakeha, they rate unemployment, education and health as most important.

Labour and Alliance Maori MPs argue that their power resides in comprehensive policies already approved and ready to go that will require no tradeoffs after the election.

Every party endorses the concept of more direct resourcing for Maori, and Maori having more control over their lives. Some call it tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty).

And, to be fair, Mr Henare's crass boast is not about getting money per se, but about giving Maori more money to exercise more control over their affairs. Yesterday, he endorsed voucher education, Act style, reasoning that it would give Maori parents more choice.

Even Prime Minister Jenny Shipley enthused during the campaign about handing control of Te Puia Springs Hospital in the Bay of Plenty to the local runanga - which she said was a strong deliverer of health and education services. She dismissed a suggestion that this was an endorsement of self-determination.

Even if no one else appreciates Mr Henare, Mrs Shipley does. She has a lot to thank him for - 14 months in office without him holding her to ransom over some contentious demand.

That may also be the very reason Mr Henare is consigned to MMP history.