May 03, 2023
Whaitiri defection ground in whakapapa
Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri says she has officially informed the Speaker she has resigned from Labour and joined Te Pāti Māori.
Ms Whaitiri announced the switch at a hui at Waipatu Marae in Hastings.
She replaces her cousin Heather Skipworth as the Maori Party candidate for Ikaroa Rawhiti.
Maori Party president John Tamihere says it was a deal brokered by Ngati Kahungunu leaders Ngahiwi Toimoana and Bayden Barber, with the support of Ms Skipworth.
Ms Whaitiri told the hui Maori that political activism was part of being Māori.
“It comes from our whakapapa and we as Maori have a responsibility to it – not others – we. Today I’m acknowledging that whakapapa. I’m acknowledging my responsibility to it and it is calling me home. The decision to cross the floor is not an easy one but it’s the right one,” she says.