Labour 'absolutely' comfortable if Te Pāti Māori does not return to Parliament

Labour is "absolutely" campaigning to get Te Pāti Māori out of Parliament and says that while the party's internal ructions are sad for te ao Māori, that is politics.

Labour's campaign chair for the Māori seats, Willie Jackson, said there has been strong interest in campaigning for the electorates and they will be "ready" if there are by-elections.

He also ruled out accepting rogue MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris into Labour, after Te Pāti Māori announced their expulsion from the party on Monday.

Jackson - who is also co-chair of the party's Māori caucus - said they would be fighting hard to win all seven of the Māori seats, and if that meant Te Pāti Māori not getting back into Parliament, that was fine with him.

"Oh absolutely. We got rid of them in 2017 and they try to get rid of us in the seats, we try to get rid of them, that's just the nature of the game. Doesn't mean to say we don't have good relationships with them still ... it's just how it is."

He said there had been a lot of interest from people looking to win the Māori seats for Labour.

"We've had a lot of interest, a lot of interest in the seats - particularly during the Māori Party troubled times - so had a lot of interest in the last six to eight weeks, candidates lining up everywhere.

"I think people don't like division, and they like what they're seeing from Labour. Our Māori MPs are performing and they'll be ready if there are any by-elections."

He made clear however that whoever Labour picked as candidates, Kapa-Kingi and Ferris would not be among them.

"They're not Labour people, they're not Labour candidates. They're good people, we don't have anything against them, but they will not be candidates for Labour."

Asked what value Te Pāti Māori was bringing to Parliament, he came up short.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask their supporters. I worry about Labour and the reality is we've got a real opportunity - at the same time I don't take any joy in what's happening. All parties go through these internals, so, disappointing for them, disappointing for a lot of our people but it's their business, we've got to concentrate on getting ourselves organised and we will."

Labour leader Chris Hipkins agreed the party would be competing "vigourously" for every Māori seat at the next election.

He had a pithy response when asked if he would be comfortable with Te Pāti Māori exiting Parliament: "They're doing a pretty good job of that for themselves at the moment."

"At the moment Te Pāti Māori are more focused on themselves than focused on tackling the issues facing New Zealand, so they're not bringing a lot to the debate at the moment.

"We've got a very strong line-up of potential candidates vying for Labour's nomination for those Māori electorates and I think that bodes well for a good result for us in those seats at the next election."

He indicated Labour was looking to capitalise on the divisions in Te Pāti Māori.

"There were a lot of non-Māori New Zealanders who were very supportive of the Toitu te Tiriti movement for example who felt very let down from the Māori Party basically saying 'if you're an Asian new Zealander or a Pākehā New Zealander then you have no right to be speaking on Māori issues'.

"A lot of people driving around with Toitu te Tiriti bumper stickers suddenly felt that they were alienated from that kaupapa so I think that means that they're now looking around to say 'well we thought we were supporting something which it's clear ... that's not what we thought it was.

"My message to them is vote Labour if you want to change the government."

Whether Labour could work with Te Pāti Māori around the cabinet table was still an open question, which would be answered next year, he said.

"Lots can change in a year. But we will make our decisions, and they'll be principled decisions and we'll set them out closer to the election. I'm not making those decisions in advance."

He said strategic decisions about whether Māori seat candidates would be also placed on Labour's list would also be made closer to the election.

There was "some certainty" that Cushla Tangaere-Manuel would again be Labour's candidate for Ikaroa Rāwhiti, but the others were yet to be confirmed.

Jackson said Te Pāti Māori's internal ructions were "very sad".

"I think it's sad for te ao Māori. I don't like to see this sort of thing happen - some of these people are friends, relations, so I take no joy in it but the reality is we'll be after the seats ... so course it's sad, however that's politics."

Speaking earlier to Morning Report, Hipkins seemed to agree with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon that Te Pāti Māori was no longer relevant.

"Certainly this term of Parliament, they've made themselves irrelevant," he said. "Because they're busy arguing with each other and they're not contributing to the big debates about the future of the country."

He rejected Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi's claim that "serious conversations" were being had with Labour and the Greens.

"No. I mean, they've informed us within the last week or so about what they're doing, but there have been no conversations about what a future government might look like or any policy discussions or anything like that - and they're in no position to be having those conversations.

"Rawiri rung me yesterday to tell me what they were already telling the public, which is that they'd decided to boot two of their MPs out."

He said the party had to "sort themselves out" before any conversations with other parties about governance arrangements could take place.

Hipkins reiterated Labour would next year set out its preferred governing arrangements, and said that would include the principles Labour would stand by in negotiations.

"If Christopher Luxon had said to David Seymour at the last election 'I'm not willing to do your Regulatory Standards Bill, I'm not willing to have your Treaty Principles Bill and if you don't like it you can go sit on the cross benches' I reckon David Seymour would have said 'oh well, let's talk about some other things'."

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