Meka’s defection is a shockwave inside Māori politics and national politics.
Her decision to walk seems driven by personal ambition rather than political difference and the Māori Caucus are clearly surprised and saddened by that decision.
However.
The issues confronting NZ right now demand solidarity on the Left.
The management of this is a political test to the electorate over how Labour and the Māori Party can work together.
If it descends into recriminations and factional fighting we are seeing in the Greens, it will be the kiss of death at the election.
It is vital that dignity and mana dictate the response or else the media will seize on any shade throwing as the end of NZ democracy.
Solidarity and the ability to work together is where it matters now because a National/ACT Government intend to make enormous cuts in essential community infrastructure that will damage all the values both Labour and the Māori Party stand for.
This is a political test, managed correctly it will show the electorate there is nothing to fear from a Labour led Government with supply and confidence from the Māori Party.
Managed poorly and we hand ammunition to the Right.
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It’s not a defection, it’s planned jack up in an effort to make sure none of them lose their 1%er pay packets and can continue with their behind closed doors deception. Both parties know if Labour gets hammered they both will. The whole thing smacks of desperation.
Anyone who believes the Maori Party and National may team up need to put the bottle down and seek urgent medical assistance.
they did it last time after swearing they never would
Yes if anyone thinks there’s not another secret agenda here they are naive.
Willie Jackson much to clever,great friend of JT.
The scheming here will become apparent nearer the election.
Labour/Maori Government is the goal.
What is that saying about rats & ships?
FP “ Here’s hoping front-bum Tamihere knows how to don thinking caps as well as he sets traps”?
Yes and his accomplice non other than Willie Jackson.
There is much more to this than meets the eye.
The Chipster’s reshuffle has ruffled the feathers of the Maori Caucus.
Yes he and Willie are setting this up.
I seem to remember Tamihere doesn’t like queeries either.
Who abandoned ship first?
Who abandoned ship first?
Who was the first to abandon ship?
How’s the weather in Massachusetts?
We all know who jumped ship first.
“Rurawhe also said he could not release the communication he received from Whaitiri. He said it would break confidentiality MPs expected the Speaker to uphold, but he added nothing was stopping Whaitiri from releasing the messages.”
So, a significant constitutional issue (imagine if there was a 1 vote majority) & the Speaker chooses to hide behind his “relationship” with our elected representatives.
Boot these hooligans out.
I think hooligans on the button.
This is a Government playing with our lives,they need to understand running a country is a serious business not an instrument for their amusement.
Too many factions in the Labour Government, complete lack of accountability and competence.
” The issues confronting NZ right now demand solidarity on the Left. ”
The political test if there is one is to deal with the deprivation of so many who are hungry , homeless and destitute including our precious tamariki because we run this country as a cartel for the rich.
I don’t give a shit about this woman who is a nasty bully and does not have the mana to be receiving all of this mis directed attention.
She has sat in cabinet and the rich mans spare Labour party and has never taken issue or spoken out regarding her former party’s negligence in delivering the transformation she and her colleagues campaigned on to get elected to parliament. All that means fuck all now while she manipulates the system for her own benefit.
I would have had respect for her had she gone after making a principled stand against the government she supported and as a member of the cabinet disgusted by the lack of action in tackling the cruelties of neo liberal policies but no.
This is another example of how these people lie and manipulate the system for their own personal gain.
If she had real mana and stature her career would never have been tarnished by her own cruel actions and tendencies.
” The issues confronting NZ right now demand solidarity on the Left. ”
The political test if there is one is to deal with the deprivation of so many who are hungry , homeless and destitute including our precious tamariki because we run this country as a cartel for the rich.
I don’t give a shit about this woman who is a nasty bully and does not have the mana to be receiving all of this mis directed attention.
She has sat in cabinet and the rich mans spare Labour party and has never taken issue or spoken out regarding her former party’s negligence in delivering the transformation she and her colleagues campaigned on to get elected to parliament. All that means fuck all now while she manipulates the system for her own benefit.
I would have had respect for her had she gone after making a principled stand against the government she supported and as a member of the cabinet disgusted by the lack of action in tackling the cruelties of neo liberal policies but no.
This is another example of how these people lie and manipulate the system for their own personal gain.
If she had real mana and stature her career would never have been tarnished by her own cruel actions and tendencies.
https://www.thepress.co.nz/a/nz-news/350007146/charities-prepare-for-perfect-winter-storm-of-housing-food-and-cost-of-living-crises
You describe them well mosa.
Most of them are career politicians there for their own personal gain.Outside of Government unemployable.
So many secret agenda within the Labour Caucuses.
There you go Bomber that’s what your in for post October 14th should TMP be in a position of kingmaker.
Parliamentary process is obviously a joke when it comes to this wahine leaving the rich mans spare party
It smells so much like the arrogance they despise pakehas for when it comes to adhering to the correct parliamentary process.
But the ” we are not accountable ” is the same as that old tried and true ” I can’t recall ”
This is smelling really bad.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/we-re-not-accountable-to-u-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-not-revealing-whaitiri-correspondenc
“a National/ACT Government intend to make enormous cuts in essential community infrastructure that will damage all the values both Labour and the Māori Party stand for.”
Q1. What exactly are these proposed cuts to “essential community infrastructure”? I’ve asked repeatedly what essential services are provided by the 5 demographic ministries that Seymour wants to abolish, and so far no answer. I know Seymour has plenty of bad ideas, but this isn’t one of them.
Q2. What are all these values that the Labour Party stands for? And should they be classed as “threatened” or “endangered”? Or are they already extinct?
Pope
Act will cut the incredibly amazingly phenomenally massively essential ministries of woman’s affairs and Pacific affairs. Plus a few others hopefully. Mostly because MSD or Internal affairs should cover all that anyway if the pencil pushers chose to work a normal day. So the more fat ACT trim off our hyper obese govt structures, the better. BTW do they Islands have ministries of new zealand affairs?
Pope these people want power for personal gain that much is now patently obvious.They are playing games with the lives of New Zealanders.
They are devoid of values,they are dishonest.
Older Labour supporters must be furious to see the desertion of everything Labour stood for.
Allow me to list them.
Hmmmmm
Ahummmm
.
.
And without these essential public services we all die!! My mistake, only the poor because the wealthy do not need essential services.
ACT won’t cut essential community infrastructure. They wouldn’t dare. They will be like a playful kitten. That just need the occasional perk and Pat.
You are correct.
Conservatives and that lot love efficient public services.
They will even cut the number of employees in public service to achieve better public services.
Hehehehe! As long as the gweens die!
TMP will score sum of LINOs brown vote and the cis & swingers muddle class will split to NZF, Nats and Act.
Leaving NZF & TMP up to going it alone together causing another election or, teaming up with National and Act!
Wholey Moley!
Then what will the ‘left’ moan about then? FFS!
Who said NZ’ders are dumbarses!!
Yes indeed.
But the greens will not die.
Managed poorly? How much worse can it get?
The Minister (now ex) of the Hawkes Bay Disaster Recovery who did a deal with Te Pati Maori hasn’t even told the Prime Minister yet, it’s that badly managed.
The suffering people of Hawkes Bay have received the”fuck you” wave from Meka. That is not well managed.
Honest to God, there is no way ever doing a deal with TPM is going to ever benefit anyone but the very few hangers on in the Maori Party. Certainly not “U” or I!
Agree XRAY this is not about governing New Zealand anymore but more to do with factions on the left.
It’s become tribal,it’s turning into a political war within Labour.(Same can be said of the Greens.)
I can’t see it working. The left like to see the Maori Party as being socialists because of their community values, but in practice they seem to be more focused on thumbing their collective noses at parliamentary democracy and procedures and sticking it to the cracker than trying to achieve anything for the nation as a whole.
They seem to be telling us that the Maori Party is for Maori only. We can only judge them by their actions.
Martyn – Good riddance to bad rubbish….
To quote Jenna Lynch from Newshub…
“This week co-leaders and Whaitiri have not done the jobs they are paid a lot of taxpayer money to do. They are already perceived to have a shoddy attendance record and this week they have not attended a single day of Parliament”.
Yep, Labour voters really want Labour to “work” with people like that who appear to not know the meaning of the word! Not.
Ardern cried online abuse and “shocked” her colleagues with a resignation it turns out was pre arranged with Hipkins to boost Labours polling.
As it turns out, this latest “shock” defection strengthens the Maori party and increases the chances of Labour reforming government.
It’s all just an incredible coincidence from the most transparent government ever! 3 waters will be voluntary! He pua pua is not government policy! Democracy has changed!
Trust them! They wouldn’t be doing this for political gain!
Willie and JT strike again.
Keepcalmcarryon very well summarised.
Yet again another demonstration of how underhand and devious this Labour Government is.
They are obsessed with the lust for power at the expense of most New Zealanders.
There are more chapters to this than an Agatha Christie mystery novel.
Very intelligent thing to do if this is the case. It’s the exact same reason National pulled Goldsmith out of the Epsom running, to gain enough votes to win an election, no different.
If at all, this is reason to not vote for Labour and Te Pati Maori, as they clearly have no concept of honoring the requirements of their jobs. Namely being the elected representatives of their region. Unless really all people now-a-days get to elect is a party, and the suits that are put forward are just figure heads with no power, pawns to be moved to the advantage of the Party, and the country be damned.
They should have waited until the end of their term, and then switched, and if they are now member of Te Pati Maori then they – the person that resigned – should quit the government and sit on the opposition bench where Te Pati Maori is currently seated.
Career politicians look after themselves before anyone else.
The only party entirely made up of people that had a career before politics and one to return to afterwards is ACT
Labour and the Greens are basically a sheltered workshop for the unemployable
Please list the career politicians in National?
Agree Tribal Scot but would add most of the National Party have had real jobs.
Labour and the Greens are career politicians only.
Principles get cast aside when it’s not a vote catcher.
Look at Chippy back flips in pursuit of victory,to hell with the hard held principles of the Labour Party.
As for the Greens the only thing green about them is their envy of one another.
Dog Tucker.
She’s perfectly entitled to jump party. There has to be a by-election end of story! That speaker is a disgrace. He’s lowered himself down to the Mallard level.
Pretty useless that the government couldn’t bother to get the law tighter for the waka jumping law!
Another mockery of law and government in NZ, where the point of the law is lost, and thus becomes another sign of dysfunction of NZ government law makers and government – full of loop holes.
MP’s can announce to the press they are leaving but not actionable if they don’t let the speaker know, then somehow they get around the law!
Tired of voting for parties with people who have no principles being supported by NZ political parties that are too weak to even get a law for democracy right!
How’s the co-governance working out for everyone….???
Both parties and individuals involved passed the test.
Nothing to see here.
Let’s move on.
There is no solidarity on the Left,being career politicians they are there for themselves only.
The left at the moment is in a tangled mess.