Ratana sticks with Labour, others go with Maori party

11.45am

The Ratana Church is sticking with Labour while a groundswell of support for the new Maori Party is seeing others in Maoridom turn their back on Labour.

Some Maori leaders were today counselling that their runanga were apolitical and it was for individuals to decide how to vote.

This followed a series of developments yesterday when Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta was forced to declare she would stay with Labour, after Tainui co-chairman Tukoroirangi Morgan's claim at the Maori Party's launch on Sunday that five Waikato iwi had cut ties with Labour.

Ngati Kahungunu, with 56,000 members the country's third-largest tribe, was said by its president Ngawihi Tomoana to have "come off the fence" and thrown its weight behind the Maori Party.

In another development, it was also revealed that the Alliance will consider joining forces with Te Tai Hauauru MP Tariana Turia's new party.

Mrs Turia apparently suggested yesterday that she had the backing of a significant number of Ratana Church supporters. But the movement's secretary, Waka Paama, said there was no change in Ratana's traditional support for Labour.

"We're not even getting excited about it (the Maori Party)," he told the Dominion Post newspaper.

"We didn't support them in the first place .. and we're still where we were when our founder made the alliance with the Labour Party."

Associate Maori Affairs Minister John Tamihere said Ratana was "holding faith" with a party that had delivered.

Tainui leaders last night played down the impact of Mr Morgan's statement that five Waikato iwi were cutting ties with Labour.

Mr Morgan's co-chairman, Haydn Solomon, said he was "aghast" at Mr Morgan's comments.

Tainui chairman Harry Mikaire described it as an exaggeration.

"We're trying to keep reasonable control around this," Mr Mikaire said.

However, he also said there was a view that did not stray too far off what Mr Morgan was saying.

"It's not so much about Nanaia, it's about the loss of confidence and support around the traditional Labour vote," he said.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said Mr Morgan's claims came "out of left field" and she understood Tainui was expecting an explanation from him.

Mr Tamihere today told National Radio that any threat to Labour's hold on the Maori seats by some of the new tribal chiefs "that run the tribal chequebooks" did present some difficulties and Labour acknowledged that.

However, he said whole tribes did not vote one way.

"You can't for the life of me accept that somebody can walk out and declare that the whole of the iwi votes a certain way. Maori society, even in its greatest of days of tribalism, never works that way because it doesn't operate off a feudal base."

Sonny Tau, chairman of the Ngapuhi runanga, today told National Radio iwi authorities had to work with the Government of the day "and the dangers of having allegiances to certain parties then stymies your ability to get on with business in other areas".

Ngapuhi would not align itself with a certain party.

"We remain apolitical in terms of our runanga and individuals have their own choice."

Api Mahuika, chairman of Ngati Porou runanga, said Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia was from the tribe and, apart from the foreshore and seabed issue, he had been doing "some good work" for the tribe as had the Labour Party.

"And so we have to take that into account while we are assessing as to which way we should give our votes."

Ngai Tahu chairman Mark Solomon said the runanga had been meeting to discuss support for the Maori Party.

He attended a meeting at the weekend in his area of Kaikoura where there was "very strong support" for the Maori Party.

"At this stage, ... what I can say is that the Kaikoura runanga members are searching for information. They've looked at the constitution of the Maori Party and they've liked what they've read. They're on an information-seeking venture at the moment," he said.

In Taranaki, a Te Atiawa member, Peter Moeahu, who reportedly had signed up as a co-ordinator for the Maori Party, said he believed there were elements of Labour support which was "still alive" but as time went by -- and the general election got closer -- "the remnants of the Labour support will just die off".

However, another member of the tribe, Grant Knuckey, said Labour would have "performance" on its side at the next election and if it looked hard at who it elected as its candidate for the district, it would have a "major contest advantage".

- NZPA