Tensions within Te Pāti Māori have escalated further, with senior figures in the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate publicly contradicting claims that the rohe endorsed the expulsion of MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris.
According to the party, the expulsion motion was supported by representatives from Tāmaki Makaurau, Waiariki, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and Te Tai Hauāuru. Hauraki-Waikato and Te Tai Tonga abstained.
Te Tai Tokerau was excluded from the hui and therefore did not participate in the voting.
However, correspondence shared among the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti membership this week paints a conflicting picture of whether that support existed.
In an email circulated to the Heretaunga branch, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti co-chair Robert Whaitiri said the electorate “did not support the decision” and had instead moved to take the matter back to members for further discussion.
“We informed you last week of our decision to resign our position on the actions of the National Executive and to take it back to our membership for detailed discussion,” Whaitiri wrote.
“Your announcement infers we support the sackings. We refute any support we have for this action.”
Whaitiri also told members he would step down as chair of Te Matau-a-Māui, but said it was important to explain “what actually transpired” before the expulsions.
In emails in response obtained by Te Ao Maori News party secretary said Whaitiri’s statement was “not correct”.
He said the authority to endorse the expulsions sat with the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Electorate Executive, not with him or the National Council.
“The National Executive has no authority over your Electorate Executive decision-making,” the email stated.
He said the electorate’s other co-chair, Te Rina Lemon, had endorsed both the suspension and expulsion recommendations on behalf of the rohe, with minutes recording the decisions.
Lemon, in a reply to the same email thread, confirmed that endorsement and said she was upholding “collective decisions” made by electorate kaumātua, pakeke, executives and rangatahi.
She also noted that Whaitiri had resigned from his position.
A further email formally acknowledged the resignations of both Whaitiri and strategic adviser Meka Whaitiri from the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Electorate Executive, effective 10 November.
“The Committee extends its appreciation to you both for your service and contribution to the kaupapa of Te Pāti Māori, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti,” the letter said.
The conflicting accounts indicate ongoing fractures not only among the party’s parliamentary caucus but also within its organisational and grassroots structures.
As previously reported, the expulsion of Ferris and Kapa-Kingi is unprecedented in the modern Māori political movement, and has intensified debate around mandate, tikanga-based governance, and where decision-making authority sits, with electorates, the National Council, or party leadership.
While co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have presented the expulsions as a move toward restoring unity, the dispute in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti indicates the fallout is potentially far from resolved.
Before entering the debating chamber today, the co-leaders acknowledged the ongoing turbulence following the announcement.
Responding to questions about disagreements within electorate branches, Ngarewa-Packer extended her thanks to the resilience of its members.
“We’ve had a tumultuous storm this whole period, this whole term. What we do, is first of all, is mihi to our electorates – mihi to them all – because they are our volunteers. They are the ones who hold the mana, and we are put here by them. They gave us one job to do, and that is to get this Government out in 2026.
“We also want to mihi to Tūwharetoa and acknowledge what they are experiencing. There are bigger fires and bigger things to put out than us here. Again, we want to show all our solidarity and support to them with what they are dealing with at this time.” She said.
