Ex-Te Pāti Māori co-leader urges leadership change amid 'infighting', 'personal attacks'

Former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori Te Ururoa Flavell is calling for a change in the party’s leadership amid “concerns” over their recent conduct, declaring the party had “lost its way”.

In a Facebook post, the former Minister of Māori Development said the party needed to address its internal issues or risk being “punished once again”, as it was when it lost in the 2017 election, which triggered Flavell’s retirement from politics.

“Our people have not liked the infighting, the personal attacks, the inability to uphold tikanga, poor leadership, the absence of whakaiti [humility] when needed, and the constant accusations directed at one another and others. I share those concerns.”

Over the past year, that infighting has spilled into public view. It has included accusations from a former ally Eru Kapa-Kingi that the party had a dictatorial leadership style (Te Pāti Māori denies this). The issues appeared to culminate with the suspension of Kapa-Kingi’s mother, Mariameno, who was the party’s MP for Te Tai Tokerau, after accusations she had breached the party’s kawa or tikanga.

She was suspended alongside Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris but successfully challenged the legitimacy of that expulsion in court. She has since set up her own party.

Then-Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi (top right) sitting behind co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi during Question Time in Parliament in November 2025. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Flavell’s commentary came after a “tough month” following the passing of several revered Māori leaders, particularly that of Ngāti Raukawa rangatira and the first president of the Māori Party, Whatarangi Winiata.

“At each tangi, someone has approached me about the Māori Party and even asked how they should vote. Many are conflicted. They have been staunch Māori Party supporters, yet they are frustrated and uncertain.

“I have tried to stay neutral as best I can. But with the passing of Matua Whatarangi, the inaugural president of the Māori Party, I feel it is time to say something.”

Losses and gains

Winiata died in early June, aged 92. He was a Māori education visionary, helping establish the first Māori higher education institution, Te Wānanga of Raukawa in Ōtaki.

Flavell also has a strong education background. He previously worked with St Stephen’s School in South Auckland and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. He is currently the pro-chancellor at the University of Waikato.

Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, with party president Whatarangi Winiata, arriving for their talks with Prime Minister-elect John Key. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Flavell entered Parliament in 2005 when he won the Waiariki seat. He succeeded Sir Pita Sharples as co-leader of the Māori Party in 2013, as it was called then. In 2017, he lost the electorate to Labour’s Tāmati Coffey, a defeat he said “hit me hard”.

“But our members never left; our kaupapa remained strong; we simply had a holiday from the Beehive for three years before we returned.

“Losing the 2017 election was difficult because so many hopes and dreams for the movement seemed to disappear overnight.”

Flavell was angry and sad – “mostly because of what it meant to our pakeke [adults], the older ones who had stood by me through both the good and tough times”.

“That sense of whakamā [shame] kept me away from everything. I worried about seeing Whatarangi, Tariana [Turia] and others. I felt I had let them all down after all the mahi we had done together.”

The Māori Party of Flavell’s era supported the National Party to form a minority Government when landmark initiatives like Whānau Ora were developed.

“Those outcomes were achieved because our small party built a working relationship with larger parties.”

“Turia, Sharples, Harawira, Flavell, Katene, Fox – were there fallouts at times? Of course, there were. It happens. Being in Parliament is high-pressure work with enormous expectations from our people, including those who didn’t vote for us.”

But during those times, Whatarangi “had a way of levelling us all out” and “he always brought us back to what mattered most: the survival and wellbeing of Māori as a people”.

“I attended meetings with Prime Minister John Key and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. Despite our political differences, we were always treated with respect. Those gains came because of relationships.”

Māori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell with Prime Minister John Key before their confidence and supply talks at the Beehive in 2014. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“At times, in the first few terms, we even played ‘good cop, bad cop’. Tariana and Pita used their influence as ministers to secure gains. Hone, Rahui and I challenged policies that would have a detrimental impact on our people. It worked.

“We voted against many National Party policies because they did not align with our values. Did it damage our relationship with National? No. They understood that we would always stand for the rights of our people. Yet we still made progress.”

2023 election landslide

Flavell said three years after his defeat in Waiariki to Coffey, John Tamihere took over as president and in 2023 the party went on to win a landslide six of the seven Māori seats.

“I was there in the hotel room in Rotorua in 2023 when the final results came through ... It was an emotional moment for all of us in that room.

“Winning six of the seven Māori seats was a remarkable achievement, and full acknowledgment must be given to John Tamihere for that. In my 12 years in Parliament and across four campaigns, we did not achieve what he and his team did. It was a significant victory.”

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa Packer and Rawiri Waititi announcing the suspension of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris for breaches of kawa. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But, he said, Māori politics is unpredictable and can shift dramatically depending on what else is going on.

“At Whatarangi’s tangi, I said openly that I believed that the current Māori Party was very different from the one that Whatarangi, with the rest of us, built. I said the party had lost its way.

“In my view, the party had moved away from the kaupapa, that is, how we conduct ourselves as Māori, how we would engage with others, and ultimately why we were there in the first place.”

He said he shared the concerns of his people about the party’s “infighting, the personal attacks, the inability to uphold tikanga, poor leadership ... the constant accusations directed at one another and others”.

Bringing things back together would not be easy but he believed “all is not lost”.

“So much of what made our movement special has been lost, and our party risks being punished once again.

“I still believe all is not lost. Returning our party to the original kaupapa is critical. If our people were to see a style of leadership that reflects the original party values, I believe they would come home. That requires a change of leadership and approach. For our movement’s sake, I hope it happens and happens soon.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.