July 08, 2013
Truce but no merger for Māori parties
The Māori Party’s Ikaroa-Rāwhiti says it’s time to make a truce with Mana but there is no appetite for a merger.
Na Raihania was beaten into third place by the Mana candidate, raising questions about the future of the party.
He says three issues came up at every meeting on the campaign trail the Māori Party leadership battle, the relationship with Mana and the relationship with National.
Mr Raihania says the leadership issue should be resolved at Saturday’s AGM in Whakatane, but the Mana question needs to be handled carefully.
"Not one member ever came to me, emailed me, texted me and asked us to go into a merger with Mana, and I think there are some very good principled reasons for that, they see a different future in Mana than they do in the Māori Party, and all those are good and valid reasons, but I believe we need to find an accommodation with Mana of some sort and that has to be done party to party. We need to at least sit down and have a discussion," he says.
Mr Raihania says he’s not standing for Māori Party president, as nominations closed when he was still on the by-election campaign.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd