Eventually deciding that Māori needed an independent voice, he announced his intention to resign from Labour on 6 November 1979.

[3] At Easter 1980, he launched the Mana Motuhake party,[3] and resigned his seat in Parliament to contest a by-election under its banner.

In the resulting Northern Maori by-election of 1980, Rata was defeated by the Labour Party's new candidate, Bruce Gregory.

In the 1999 elections, another Mana Motuhake candidate, Willie Jackson, entered Parliament as an Alliance MP.

[10][11] The Alliance split due to internal tensions over funding and their relationship with Labour and leader Jim Anderton left to create the Progressive Coalition.

However, both finished second in their respective electorates and the Alliance failed to reach the party vote threshold, meaning Mana Motuhake was left without representation in Parliament.