July 02, 2013
Sharples stepping down as Māori Party co-leader
It’s the end of an era, with Pita Sharples announcing he is stepping down as Māori Party co-leader at the party’s AGM in a fortnight.
He will stay on in parliament until the election, but intends to lighten his ministerial load.
He currently holds the Māori affairs portfolio and has associate roles in corrections and education.
Dr Sharples told a press conference at parliament this morning that ongoing leadership struggles had hurt the party, and its third place showing in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti was a sign action was needed.
Dr Sharples has been under pressure since co-leader Tariana Turia announced she would not stand again and urged him to stand aside to make way for a new generation.
Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell is expected to get the male co-leader slot, and the debate at the AGM is likely to be whether the party continues with the co-leader model.
Former Alliance MP and political commentator Willie Jackson says he gives Dr Sharples a nine out of 10 for his decade as Māori Party co-leader.
He says he and Tariana Turia have been the most prominent Māori political leaders of the past 25 years,
Labour MP Shane Jones says Pita Sharples set the fate of the Māori Party by aligning it too closely with a National-led Government that was acting against the interests of his constituents.
He says Dr Sharples will continue to be a significant figure in the Māori cultural renaissance, but he has not been a strong figure in parliament, and he has been one of the weakest Māori Affairs ministers of recent times.
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