May 18, 2023
Whaitiri tags co-governance cooling is split decision
Former Labour MP Meka Whaitiri says her decision to quit the party wasn’t over a single issue but happened over time.
She told Radio Waatea talk host and Maori Party president John Tamihere that Labour”s Maori caucus lost influence after Jacinda Ardern stepped down.
She says new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is focused on winning back middle New Zealand by putting things like co-governance and the three waters reforms on hold.
“The current leadership has a different style, obviously concerned around the up-and-coming Election, and so trying to win back the middle vote, which meant some of our extremities had to be carved off. And I could see that playing out at the beginning of the year when the changes first happened,” she says.
Ms Whaitiri says with Te Paati Maori she feels she can truly fight for Maori interests.