July 03, 2013
Bird joins leadership exodus
Māori Party President Pem Bird says the party will survive the loss of its co-leaders.
With both Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia set to bow out at the next election, the party needs to maintain its appeal to Māori voters if it is to win the seats it needs to be a parliamentary force.
Mr Bird says the way Dr Sharples chose to give up his role shows the measure of the man, that he had the greater good of the party in mind.
He says the Māori Party should not be expected to act like a mainstream party.
"If we behave like a mainstream party, our demise is there. Mainstream parties are built to be mainstream parties and act in the way that they do, and make deals in the back room and get numbers and all that sort of stuff. That's not our world. Our world is defined for us by kaupapa tuku iho so that is an ongoing challenge for us, but we are learning," Mr Bird says.
Mr Bird is also giving up the role of president, having told the party council some time ago that work and iwi commitments mean he will not stand for another term.
Contenders so far are Naida Glavish and George Ngatai, both from Auckland.
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