Source: Radio New Zealand
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. Anneke Smith / RNZ
MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi says Justice Radich “brought justice to Te Tai Tokerau voters” when he ruled her expulsion from Te Pāti Māori “unlawful”.
It comes as a political commentator says the party might be looking to distance itself from the drama of last year, and focus on the election ahead.
The formally reinstated MP took to social media on Tuesday night to celebrate the verdict, saying her intention in bringing the case was not to incite division, but “seek clarity and ensure the processes we hold ourselves to – particularly those grounded in tikanga, are honoured”.
“Finally, today, the truth has risen,” Kapa-Kingi said following the release of the verdict on Tuesday afternoon, which ruled her suspension and subsequent expulsion as “unlawful”.
Radich said the tikanga principles that were infused into the kawa document “were not mentioned or applied” in relation to her suspension.
“Perhaps most fundamentally, the relevant tikanga principles – which must inform the way in which a decision-maker considers the kawa’s rules – were not applied in any way,” Radich said.
“This decision on its own will not heal all the mamae, but it is an important first step,” Kapa-Kingi said online.
Kapa-Kingi also mentioned she looked forward to meeting with those from Te Tai Tokerau to discuss their future strategy for the election in coming weeks.
She finished by acknowledging this week belonged to “my darling nephew Peeni Henare”, whose many years of service “deserve recognition and respect”.
Mike Colson KC – Kapa-Kingi’s lawyer – told RNZ it was nice to see an “unjust situation rectified”.
Mike Colson KC. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
He was particularly interested in the judge’s assessment of the party breaching its own tikanga, acknowledging tikanga was a “fairly hot topic” amongst the legal profession at the moment.
“Many judges are slightly nervous dealing with it, or – one might expect very respectful of it.
“Here we had such a clear explanation of what the tikanga was of the party, and I thought it was quite brave and right of the judge to find that kawa and tikanga had been breached.”
He also acknowledged it might be considered “unusual” for a judge to “direct a party to take an action within Parliament”.
But Colson said the situation was so clear, and there was a lack of clarity last time as to whether that extra step was necessary.
“The judge thought it was proper to do so and to direct them to give a notice to the speaker.”
He said it was an unusual set of circumstances, and did not think it would set a major precedent.
The defendants had argued the case was a contractual matter, and should be dealt with privately, but Colson said the judge was quick to point out the “public character of the proceeding”, and that it was not just Kapa-Kingi’s case, but her electorate who voted her in.
“They, of course, also had a role to play and a voice to be heard, and that really pushed into very much the public arena.”
What will happen now?
On Tuesday Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi told reporters he had attempted to make contact with Kapa-Kingi, but it was not clear what the process was for her reinstatement or how the apparent rift would be addressed.
Associate professor in politics at Victoria University, Lara Greaves, told RNZ she had expected this ruling from the case.
She explained Te Pāti Māori’s constitution “wasn’t particularly clear”, and it was “very hard” to figure out if the party had followed the rules in terms of her expulsion.
Greaves thinks the decision to go to court was Kapa-Kingi’s attempt at staying with the party, “to change it from the inside,”, and this was “politics pushing up against the law”.
“Legally, there’s a judgment, here that Kapa-Kingi is still part of the party, but it’s not clear what will happen next.”
Political scientist & Victoria University of Wellington Associate Professor Dr Lara Greaves RNZ
She said the co-leaders had not spoken about the ruling much, and they had expressed a desire to limit any further drama, so “for a lot of us, it’s just going to be a case of waiting and seeing what happens”.
“Being within a political party where you’ve been expelled is probably not a comfortable place,” Greaves said.
She pointed to potential scenarios of further attempts at expulsion or further issues raised, “there’s still a lot of things that could happen here and happen here”.
Greaves said a lot of people, including herself, had made the assessment there was a “bit too much commentary” taking place last year from the party and others involved.
“So, just being a bit quieter might be a good solution there.
“Te Pāti Māori may have listened to a lot of their critics, listened to a lot of their whānau and communities, and thought – we need to keep this out of the media and keep a bit quiet on it going forward.”
Greaves also pointed to the Māori seats, and Labour and the Greens running strong candidates this election, “there are quite a few potential threats to their electoral success, so it’s kind of important that [Te Pāti Māori] sort it out now and figure out what they’re doing in order to get success in the election”.
“Te Pāti Māori may have made a decision in a way to hope that voters think that these issues are behind them and to move forward constructively.”
She said there would be a lot of scrutiny on the dynamics between Kapa-Kingi and the party leadership in the coming months, as well as a focus on MPs Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Oriini Kaipara and how they were fitting into the party.
It was possible, she said, that there would be enough time between the “drama” last year to the election this year that people did forgive and forget, “that would actually be a pretty good comeback”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
