Māori politics
Before the arrival of Pākehā (Europeans) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around tribal units, and chiefs (rangatira) provided political leadership.
From the outset, Māori sought representation within this government, seeing it as a vital way to promote their people's rights and improve living standards.
Before the arrival of Pākehā (European settlers) in New Zealand, Māori society was based largely around communal units.
A common misconception is that pre-colonial Māori governance was structured into the "rigid and static structural models" (p. 19)[1]: 19 proposed by early ethnologists, such as Elsdon Best (1934): The tribal organisation of the Maori included three different groups – the tribe (iwi), the clan (hapu), and the family group (whanau)....
[2]: 89 Twentieth century research "modified this model of tribal organisation, emphasising the role of the hapū ... as the largest effective corporate group which defended a territory or worked together in peaceful enterprises"[1]: 19 Therefore, it is now understood that hapū were responsible for administering resources, land, and important community buildings, and were also responsible for warfare (particularly maintaining the waka).
[citation needed] Political leadership or governance in Māori society has traditionally come from two different groups of people – the Ariki and the Rangatira.
[1]: 264 Many positions overlap with Ariki holding multiple roles, including "head of an iwi, the rangatira of a hapū and the kaumātua of a whanau".
This was a way for Māori tribal groups to assert their authority to the wider world and strengthen an alliance with Great Britain.
At first, Māori had little interest in the new Parliament, seeing it as a Pākehā institution with no real relevance to them because according to Te Tiriti they still had authority over their own resources and law.
In the end, the seats were approved based mainly on a desire to improve relations with Māori and reduce military conflict.
The Ratana MPs did not remain independent for long, however – they quickly merged into the Labour Party, which they saw as best addressing Māori needs.
By 1943, the Labour/Ratana alliance had won all four Māori electorates, establishing a pattern of dominance that many people thought was unbreakable.
Among the most prominent Māori MPs in the Labour Party were Eruera Tirikatene, who was succeeded by his daughter, Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan – both represented Southern Maori in Parliament for several decades.
New Zealand First's clean sweep of the Māori electorates surprised many observers, who had believed that Labour's grip was too strong to be broken.
[12] The introduction of MMP brought further calls for the abolition of the Māori electorates, which many deemed unnecessary in the new system.
Later, Tuariki Delamere would say much the same thing, claiming that "you cannot be accountable to Māori if your first allegiance is to a political vehicle that is owned and controlled by Pākehā."
Mana Motuhake, roughly translated as "self-government", was founded in 1979 as an independent Māori party by Labour MP Matiu Rata.
Under the Alliance, several Mana Motuhake members, including Sandra Lee-Vercoe and Willie Jackson, were elected to Parliament.
When the Alliance split, Mana Motuhake remained with the hardline faction, which failed to retain any seats in Parliament.
Rickard objected to the decision by Mana Motuhake to join the Alliance, believing that a completely independent Māori party was required.
Te Tawharau is a small Māori party which briefly held a seat in Parliament when Tuariki Delamere, a former New Zealand First MP, joined it.
Polls leading up to the election widely expected this – particularly for Labour MPs Nanaia Mahuta and Parekura Horomia to hold their seats.
This enabled Flavell's fellow co-leader Marama Fox to enter Parliament as a List MP due to the Māori Party reaching national vote threshold requirements.
[22] Under new left-wing leadership,[23] Te Pāti Māori returned at the 2020 election, when Rawiri Waititi won the Waiariki electorate.
Hone Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party, and went on to retain this seat during the 2011 election.
This includes government-recognised tribal organisations which have proliferated through the resolution of Treaty of Waitangi breaches and increased enthusiasm by Māori to receive and manage these returned assets.
