Peeni Henare keeps being asked if he's considering a Labour leadership bid - is he?

Labour's Peeni Henare is batting away suggestions of a future leadership bid - but not ruling it out - after his rival for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat suggested he should instead be Prime Minister.

During a by-election campaign event at Dave Letele's BBM gym in Manukau, Henare declined to explicitly rule out a future bid for the Labour Party leadership saying his focus right now is winning back the mandate for the Māori electorate.

Henare said he's in the community playing his role, "Chippy's the leader of the Labour Party and he's got my support," referencing the current leader Chris Hipkins.

It comes after his opponent Oriini Kaipara told TVNZ's Q+A Henare would make a "formidable" leader of the Labour Party, and should be the Prime Minister.

Early in 2024, following the election, Henare told the same show he was asked often about becoming Labour leader.

"People do ask me. Maybe every once a week or twice a week - a lot of whānau," Henare said then.

Last Wednesday, at a campaign event in Manurewa, Henare was also asked - at what point will there be a Māori leader of the Labour Party?

He acknowledged it wasn't a distant reality, pointing to the range of experienced Māori members within the caucus - including Arena Williams, Willow-Jean Prime and himself.

RNZ asked him afterward about the question posed, and whether the potential Māori leader of the Labour Party was him.

He answered that his focus right now was the by-election, but said he'd been clear there are many talented Māori not just in the Labour caucus but in the Labour Party.

"We stand by Chris Hipkins. We've got a job to do to get rid of the government. So I'm proud of how far I've come and what I've done. And my focus right now has to be, and is, this by-election."

After taking part in a workout at the Manukau gym on Tuesday, Henare was asked about Oriini Kaipara's comments to Jack Tame over the weekend.

He said: "we've got to be a leader in our communities first, and the by-election has always been the focus for now."

But he added the country needed change from the government, and "it's going to take strong leadership".

"We've all got to be leaders. Dave's a leader in the community, I'm here playing my role. Chippy is the leader of the Labour Party, and he's got my support."

Henare said Hipkins was a "great" and "strong" leader for Labour, and had kept the party together after the election loss in 2023.

He maintained his focus was getting people out to vote in the by-election.

Asked whether he would rule out a bid for the leadership, Henare responded "Let's win the by-election. Let's focus on booting this government [out]. I back Chippy."

'The sweaty mat'

Henare took part in a workout led by Manu Vatuvei that involved cycling machines, rowing machines, squats and burpees. Mid-workout, half-panting he told RNZ "as a politician it's easier to talk, it's harder to use your body".

Speaking - and sweating - to the group afterward, he said he would ensure their voices were heard in Parliament by "sweating amongst you". Henare told the group he would keep coming back, and be held accountable by the community.

Henare promised if there was another chance to implement the Māori Health Authority, he said it needed to start at the grassroots.

"Bureaucracy in Wellington - that's not going to solve our challenges here.

"It's got to be closest to where the people need it the most. And yes, we can invest in more hospitals and build new hospitals, but by the time our whānau get to the hospital, it's probably too late."

Asked about a community based Māori Health Authority, Henare explained the architecture for that was already in place, and if Labour was to return to power "we've got no time for reviews, it's time for action".

He said it was a matter off dusting off that architecture but evolving it for the next iteration.

Pressed on whether that commitment should be discussed with leadership first, Henare emphasised Hipkins had been part of the journey to establish the Māori Health Authority, and there'd already been discussions about what the party believed needed to happen.

"We can't just go back to the way Labour's done it in the past."

More than ever, he said, Labour was discussing real outcomes within communities.

"And as I made the commitment out there, community is where it's at, on the sweaty mat out there is where it's at."

He pointed to Letele's work, which Henare said had the biggest impact on whānau, not just because of their health, but because of education, support and community strength.

Letele told RNZ Henare was a politician that made good on his word.

"We need someone that's here, that's connected with the community, that understands the struggles that we're going through, and that's in a party that can actually make a difference."

He said the cost of living was an issue in South Auckland long before "they had a slogan: cost of living crisis".

"We've always been finding it tough down here, and Peeni understands that."

Letele said there needed to be less "bureau-crap" and more action.

He said he was going to hold Henare to his commitment, if there was a "reincarnation of the Māori Health Authority" it should be based in the community.

"I'm going to really push for this, because it needs to be run by community champions that are in the community, not by bureaucrats that are paid, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars, but don't understand the plight of the people."

Campaign continues

Te Pāti Māori's Oriini Kaipara visited Manukau Westfield mall as part of the campaign trail, and to have lunch.

Co-leader Rawiri Waititi spoke on her behalf, saying they were focused on the "ground-game".

There was only a few days left and the priority was speaking directly to whānau, he explained.

"We're trying to get people to the booths, making sure that people participate," said Waititi, referencing "enrolment botch ups" as being a barrier for voters.

Kaipara had been available to media throughout the campaign, and the leaders had decided for the last few days the focus would be to "go hard on the ground".

"We must be on those streets. We must be getting into those communities, and we must be talking to the whānau.

"This is not where our people are going to get to the booths, and so with all due respect to the media, this is where we're going to make a difference, on the streets, on the ground, on the pavement, doing all the hard mahi."

Asked how Kaipara was coping, Waititi said by-elections are always hard because of the short time frame to "get yourself up to play".

He said this was a "baptism of fire" into any political election, but he said the party had been able to present a "formidable candidate" to "our people", as a "viable voice for them in public and for the movement".

"I think she's done extremely well up against the seasoned politician."

By chance, former Māori Party MP Hone Harawira was also at the mall.

Harawira told RNZ "Peeni is my man all day every day" because he was a close relation and he had "great love for the brother".

Despite this, he urged Māori voters to support Oriini Kaipara, so Te Pāti Māori would maintain the strong independent base that had been created in Parliament.

He also said it would give Māori a strong platform from which to build going forward and because Henare would retain his place in Parliament even if Kaipara was voted in.

"Two for one. We're already going to have Peeni, thankfully. Now we're going to get Oriini added to it as well."

He said he hoped Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori would get together in the near future and work out how to manage the general election.

"If we don't do that, well, we'll still be in opposition after the next election, the other crowd will get back in again.

"Only way to beat that is for everybody to work together and work strategically."

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