“Her whānau has played a huge role for Labour - her mum went to school with my mum,” he said.
“I know Mick is hurting and, we’re all sad. I mean, we’re a bit traumatized,” Jackson said, of Labour’s own caucus.
“Some of us, you know, you go through a range of emotions, we’re disappointed, sad,” he said.
Jackson admitted that he probably could have done more to keep Whaitiri in Labour. He said that as co-chair of Labour’s Māori caucus he could also have done more.
“Did I do enough as a co-chair to look after her? I don’t think I did,” he said.
“I think that I could have, I, because the first time she was passed over, I supported her and there was a lot of acknowledgement in terms of her work,” he said.
“We as a Māori caucus probably could have looked after her a bit better,” he said.
Jackson said that despite the potential benefits of tactical voting in the Māori seats for the left bloc, he would still be campaigning in the seats.
“My job is to win the seven Māori seats,” Jackson said.
“People sweat blood and tears for Labour... we can’t just pass over the seats for the Māori party, it doesn’t work like that,” he said.
Jackson said he had a hui with some of the Māori caucus with co-chair Willow-Jean Prime on Friday and sounded out whether other MPs had planned to defect.
He said that no further MPs had signalled an intention to leave Labour at that meeting.
Labour is still reeling from the shock defection of Whaitiri on Wednesday. Whaitiri will stay on in Parliament as an independent MP and contest her seat of Ikaroa-Rawhiti for Te Pāti Māori at the election.
