Formation The origins of Te Pāti Māori can be traced back to the 2004
foreshore and seabed controversy, a debate about whether the
Māori have legitimate claim to ownership of part or all of New Zealand's
foreshore and
seabed that arose during the
Fifth Labour Government. A court judgement stated that some Māori appeared to have the right to seek formal ownership of a specific portion of seabed in the
Marlborough Sounds. This prospect alarmed many sectors of New Zealand society however, and the
Labour Party foreshadowed legislation in favour of state ownership instead. This angered many Māori, including many of Labour's Māori MPs. Two MPs representing
Māori electorates,
Tariana Turia and
Nanaia Mahuta, announced an intent to vote against the legislation. Turia, a junior minister, after being informed that voting against the government would appear "incompatible" with holding ministerial rank, announced on 30 April 2004 her intention to resign from the Labour Party. Her resignation took effect on 17 May, and she left parliament until she won a
by-election in her Te Tai Hauauru seat two months later. After leaving the Labour Party, Turia, later joined by Sharples, began organising a new political party. They and their supporters agreed that the new organisation would simply use the name of "the Māori Party". They chose a logo of black and red—traditional Māori colours—incorporating a traditional
koru design. The party constitution provides that there are two party co-leaders, one male and one female. Turia and Sharples were the first to fill these roles. They indicated that they wished to unite "all Māori" into a single political movement.
2005 election and first term in Parliament In the
2005 election, the Māori Party won four out of seven Māori seats and 2.12% of the party vote. The latter entitled the party to only three list seats, so the fourth electorate seat caused an
overhang seat. In the election night count, the party vote share was under 2% and the Māori Party would have got two overhang seats; when the overhang was reduced to one, National lost a list seat that they appeared to have won on election night. Tariana Turia held Te Tai Hauauru;
Pita Sharples won the
Tāmaki Makaurau electorate;
Hone Harawira, son of
Titewhai Harawira, won
Te Tai Tokerau; and
Te Ururoa Flavell won
Waiariki. In the post-election period the Māori Party convened a series of
hui to decide whether to support Labour or National, though some party leaders indicated they preferred to deal with Labour. National Party deputy leader
Gerry Brownlee and leader
Don Brash tried to win over the Māori Party and claimed that it would support National to form a government, although Turia denied this. She met privately with prime minister
Helen Clark and ruled out a formal coalition. Later, the Māori Party decided to remain in opposition and not be part of a Labour-led government. On 24 January 2006 the Māori Party's four MPs were jointly welcomed to
Rātana pā with Brash and a delegation of eight National MPs. They had been intended to be welcomed on half an hour apart but agreed to be welcomed and sit together. Turia disputed claims that this was pre-arranged, saying: "We're here for a birthday. We're not here for politics." However critics said this would have reminded onlookers of how the Māori Party and National were said to be in coalition or confidence and supply talks. This may also have served to reinforce the Labour Party's election campaign statement that a 'vote for the Māori Party is a vote for National'. One Rātana kaumatua (elder) said this was deliberate and deserved after the talks.
Supporting a National-led government: 2008–2017 In the
2008 general election the Māori Party retained all four of the seats it won in 2005, and won an additional seat, when
Rahui Katene won
Te Tai Tonga from Labour. Two seats were
overhang seats. The party's share of the party vote rose slightly to 2.39%. The Labour Party won the party vote by a large majority in every Māori electorate, meaning that the typical Māori voter had split their vote, voting for a Māori Party candidate with their electorate vote and the Labour Party with their party vote. The
National Party won the most seats overall and formed a
minority government with the support of the Māori Party,
ACT New Zealand and
United Future. Sharples was given the
Minister of Māori Affairs portfolio and became an Associate Minister of Corrections and Associate Minister of Education. Turia became Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.
Hone Harawira was critical of the alliance with the National Party and was suspended from the Māori Party in February 2011. He left the party and formed the left-wing
Mana Party in April 2011. Competing against Mana, the Māori Party's strength diminished. In the
2011 general election, it won only three electorates (with 1.43% of the party vote, the party was entitled to two seats, resulting in an
overhang of one seat). The three MPs were
Pita Sharples in
Tāmaki Makaurau,
Tariana Turia in
Te Tai Hauāuru and
Te Ururoa Flavell in
Waiāriki.
Rahui Katene lost the
Te Tai Tonga seat to
Labour's
Rino Tirikatene, and Hone Harawira won the
Te Tai Tokerau seat for the Mana Party. The National Party again formed a
minority government with the support of the Māori Party, ACT New Zealand and United Future. Sharples and Turia were returned as ministers outside cabinet. Ahead of the
2014 general election, Flavell became the male co-leader. Neither Sharples nor Turia stood for re-election. At the election, Flavell held
Waiāriki electorate seat, and the party was entitled to one further list seat as it received 1.32% of the party vote. This went to
Marama Fox, who became the next female co-leader. Prior to the
2017 general election, the Māori Party formed an electoral pact with the
Mana Movement leader and former Māori Party MP
Hone Harawira. The Māori Party agreed not to contest
Te Tai Tokerau as part of a deal for the two parties to try to regain the
Māori electorates from the Labour Party. In the election, they failed to take any seats, with Labour capturing all seven of the Māori electorates. Party co-leader
Te Ururoa Flavell expressed sadness at the loss of seats and announced he would be resigning from politics. Fellow co-leader
Marama Fox expressed bitterness at the party's defeat, remarking that New Zealand had chosen to return to the "age of colonization" and attacked the two major parties, National and Labour, for their alleged paternalism towards Māori. Fox commented that Māori have "gone back like a beaten wife to the abuser" in regards to Labour's sweep of the Māori seats.
Metro Magazine described the Māori Party's poor results as being part of backlash against them for helping National form a government. Tamihere's mayoral campaign was more right-wing, and he said the Māori Party could happily work with the National Party. This contradicted Māori Party President Che Wilson, who had set out a clear preference to work with Labour and had said "if we ever do talk to National it will have to be a big deal for us to move that way again." On 15 April 2020, the party announced that John Tamihere and
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were the new party co-leaders. In late May 2020, the party received a broadcasting allocation of $145,101 for the
2020 election. In September 2020,
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate Heather Te Au-Skipworth released the party's sports policy which included establishing a national Māori sporting body and investing in Māori sporting scholarships and programs. She also stated "it is a known fact that Māori genetic makeup is stronger than others... Our ancestors were not just athletic, they were also strategic thinkers with intentions to survive. This all required stamina, resilience, endurance, speed, agility and logic." The genetic superiority remarks were subsequently deleted prior to the
2023 New Zealand general election. At the 2020 general election, held in October, the Māori Party's
Rawiri Waititi captured the
Waiariki electorate, defeating Labour MP
Tāmati Coffey by a margin of 836 votes. This allowed the Māori Party to enter Parliament, and with its party vote of 1.2%, it was entitled to two MPs. After Waititi, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer entered Parliament as the highest-ranked person on the party list. As the only male Māori Party MP, Waititi replaced Tamihere as a co-leader. On 11 November, former party co-leader Tamihere requested a vote recount in the
Māori electorates of
Tāmaki Makaurau and
Te Tai Hauāuru, alleging Māori voters had encountered discrimination during the 2020 election. Tamihere claimed that the recount was intended to expose discriminatory laws such as the five-yearly Māori Electoral Option (which limited the ability of Māori to switch between the general and Māori rolls for a period five years). He also alleged longer wait times for Māori voters at election booths and some Māori not being allowed to vote on the Māori roll.
2020–2023 parliamentary term On 26 November 2020, Te Pāti Māori MPs Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer walked out of Parliament after the
Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard would not allow them to speak due to parliamentary procedures limiting the speaking time by smaller parties. Waititi had attempted to pass a motion that their party leaders be allowed to give a 15-minute "address in reply" but Mallard had blocked the motion on the grounds that MPs from smaller parties were not scheduled to give their maiden speeches until the following week. Waititi described Mallard's decision as unfair while Ngarewa-Packer claimed that this was "another example of the Māori voice being silenced and ignored."
2020 election donations investigation On 12 April 2021, the
Electoral Commission referred Te Pāti Māori to the Police for failing to disclose about NZ$320,000 worth of donations within the required timeframe. These donations came from several individuals and organisations including former party co-leader Tamihere (NZ$158,223.72), the Urban Māori Authority (NZ$48,879.85), and the Aotearoa Te Kahu Limited Partnership (NZ$120,000). Party President Che Wilson attributed the late disclosure to the fact that the party was staffed by volunteers and rookies who were unfamiliar with electoral finance laws. On 29 April, the Police referred the investigation into the Māori Party's undeclared donations to the
Serious Fraud Office. By late September 2022, the Serious Fraud Office had closed the investigation and decided not to pursue prosecutions against the individuals and parties involved. In late September 2022,
Charities Services general manager Natasha Weight confirmed that the agency was investigating two charities headed by Party President Tamihere, the
Te Whānau Waipareira Trust and the
National Urban Māori Authority, for financing his 2020 election campaign. According to the Charities Register, Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust Group had loaned Tamihere NZ$385,307 to support his 2020 election campaign while the National Urban Māori Authority had paid NZ$82,695 to support his 2020 election campaign and Te Pāti Māori aspirations. Under existing legislation, charities are not allowed to donate and endorse political parties and candidates or allow them to use a charity's resources. In response, Tamihere accused the Charities Services of discriminating against Te Pāti Māori and Māori causes. Tamihere and Te Pāti Māori also confirmed that they would litigate against the Charities Service if the agency ruled against them. Tamihere also criticised
The New Zealand Herald journalist Matt Nippert's coverage of the two charities' donations to his campaigns, accusing the newspaper of racism and announcing that Te Pāti Māori would boycott the
Herald. In a tweet, the party said that the video contained threats against its MPs,
marae and Māori. Police arrested a man after receiving multiple complaints about the video and a day after Te Pāti Māori laid a complaint with the
Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). A 44-year-old male was charged with making an objectionable publication. It compared the police's response to the video with the treatment of those who made death threats against National MP
Simeon Brown. Te Pāti Māori said they had removed words for their website and was rewriting policy documents. An example of policy rewriting included the "Indigenous First" framework in the party's Whānau Build policy.
Whaitiri joins party On 3 May 2023, sitting minister
Meka Whaitiri announced that she had left the Labour Party to join Te Pāti Māori.
Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe confirmed that Whaitiri would serve the remainder of her 2020–2023 term as an independent member of Parliament under standing order 35(5), which avoids invoking the "
waka-jumping" provisions of the
Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018. Whaitiri does not sit with her party in Parliament. She will recontest the
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate as a Māori Party candidate. On 10 May, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi held a
haka (dance) during Parliamentary proceedings to welcome Whaitiri to the Māori Party. In response, Rurawhe ordered Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi to leave Parliament since they had not obtained the permission of the Speaker or other parliamentary parties to hold the haka.
Name change The party registered its current name, Te Pāti Māori, with the
Electoral Commission on 12 July 2023, replacing its previous name, the Māori Party.
2023 election Te Pāti Māori launched its
2023 general election campaign at Te Whānau O Waipareira's
Matariki event in
Henderson, Auckland on 14 July. The party campaigned on advancing the interests of the
Māori people,
combating racism, and the "second-rate" status of Māori, as Ngarewa-Packer labelled it. On 27 July, the party announced several redistributive tax policies including a zero tax policy on those earning below NZ$30,000, a new 48% tax on those earning above NZ$300,000, raising the companies tax rate back to 33% and a wealth tax on millionaires. On 2 August, the party campaigned on ending state care for Māori children and replacing the present
Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) with an independent
Mokopuna Māori Authority that would network with Māori organisations,
iwi (tribes), and
hapū (sub-groups) to ensure that Māori children remained connected with their
whakapapa (genealogies). In late August 2023, Te Pāti Māori revised its Whanau Build (housing) policy to eliminate an "indigenous first" provision which called for immigration to be curbed until the country's housing supply was addressed. The party also apologised to migrant and refugee communities for promoting what it described as "harmful narratives" on its website, and reiterated that it would treat everyone like how they would be treated as guests on a
marae. During an interview with
TVNZ journalist
Jack Tame in September 2023, Waititi also denied that his party's sports policy' comments about "Māori genetic makeup being stronger than others" were racist. These comments were subsequently deleted from Te Pāti Māori's website. When challenged by Tame, he responded that TPM was "trying to empower people that are climbing out from the bottom of the bonnet of colonial violence for the last 193 years" by encouraging pride in their heritage. Despite Whaitiri's
unseating, the 2023 election outcome was Te Pāti Māori's most successful election result.
2023 election data breach allegations On 2 June 2024, the
Sunday Star Times journalist
Andrea Vance reported that
Statistics New Zealand was investigating allegations by former staff at Manurewa Marae that Te Pāti Māori had illegally used
2023 New Zealand census data to target
Māori electorate voters in the
Tāmaki Makaurau electorate during the 2023 election, and that participants were given supermarket vouchers, wellness packs and food parcels to encourage them to fill out census forms and switch to the Māori electoral roll. Te Pāti Māori's candidate
Takutai Tarsh Kemp had won the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate during the 2023 general election. A whistleblower from the
Ministry of Social Development (MSD) had alerted Statistics NZ and the Police. In response, Te Pāti Māori leader Tamihere denied the allegations and claimed that they were made by disgruntled former staff. Tamihere said that the marae had been working with the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency to promote Māori participation in the 2023 census. Tamihere also acknowledged that marae workers had given gifts to encourage people to participate in the 2023 Census and switch to the Māori roll but denied allegations of wrongdoing. On 5 June, Vance reported that the
Labour Party had filed a complaint against Te Pāti Māori in November 2023 for allegedly using personal information collected during the COVID-19 immunisation programme for political campaigning purposes during the 2023 election, which constitutes a breach of electoral law. Labour's complaint alleged that Māori voters in Auckland had received two text messages from the text code 2661 urging them to vote for Te Pāti Māori. 2661 was registered with the Waipareira Trust, which is led by TPM's President Tamihere. In response, Labour leader
Chris Hipkins,
ACT New Zealand leader
David Seymour, Prime Minister and
National Party leader
Christopher Luxon called for an investigation into the allegations against TPM. The
Privacy Commissioner also confirmed that Statistics NZ had alerted it to a potential privacy breach during its investigation. Chief statistician Mark Sowden also called for anyone with information to contact Statistics NZ. On 7 June, co-leaders Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer called for an urgent Police investigation into the data breach allegations made against Te Pāti Māori. Police confirmed they were already investigating complaints they had received. That same day, acting
Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott convened a meeting with the heads of the Statistics New Zealand, the
Ministry of Health,
Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), the Ministry of Social Development, the
Ministry of Justice, the
Department of Internal Affairs,
Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry for Māori Development),
Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) and the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the
New Zealand Police and Electoral Commission to ensure that all relevant agencies were investigating the data breach allegations On 10 June 2024, Prime Minister Luxon announced that the
Public Service Commission would launch an independent inquiry into government agencies' safeguards for protecting people's personal data and the circumstances surrounding the data breach allegations against Te Pāti Māori. The party was not notified of the Commission's inquiry. Employment advocate Allan Hulse, who represented six former Manurewa Marae staff and the MSD employee, alleged that 1,400 census forms were photocopied and uploaded into a database owned by the Waiparera Trust. Hulse also alleged that staff used census data to help people transfer from the general to Māori roll. Tamihere has rejected these allegations, calling for people to produce "hard evidence." In early July 2024, former Māori academic Rawiri Taonui disputed the allegations against Te Pāti Māori, the Waipareira Trust and Manurewa Marae; arguing that photocopies of census data were taken solely for verification purposes and destroyed, highlighting that Statistics New Zealand had clarified that neither Tamihera, the Waipareira Trust and the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency had access to their database, disputing that vouchers were used to encourage people to switch to the Māori electoral roll, and denying that Māori Party flyers were included in wellbeing packs. In late August 2024, Taonui claimed that the whistleblowers were connected to Destiny Church and had instigated the allegations against Manurewa Marae and Te Pāti Māori following a failed attempt by the church to take over the marae. On 22 January 2025, a Statistics New Zealand report cleared the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency of data breaches during the 2023 Census, finding that the agency increased Māori participation. The report made nine recommendations to improve Statistics NZ's procedures and referred allegations against Manurewa Marae to the
Privacy Commissioner. The report also found no evidence that one of the alleged whistleblowers had attempted to contact Statistics NZ regarding allegations against the marae. On 11 February 2025,
The New Zealand Herald reported that Detective Superintendent Ross McKay was leading the inquiry into allegations regarding Te Pāti Māori's misuse of census data and Covid-19 vaccination information at Manurewa Marae for electoral campaigning purposes. On 2 October, the Police and
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) halted their investigation into the Manurewa Marae electoral misconduct allegations after they found insufficient evidence of corruption. The SFO and
Privacy Commissioner are still investigating potential privacy breaches.
2023–present: In opposition Ngarewa Packer stated that the party would serve as "the only true opposition" in Parliament for the next term, adding that their plans were "to shake Parliament up and normalise it for Māori." The party's MPs also modified their oaths of allegiances to reference the Treaty of Waitangi. In late May 2024, Te Pāti Māori and the Toitu Te Tiriti movement called for a nationwide day of protest known as "Toitū Te Tiriti National Day of Action" to coincide with the release of the
2024 New Zealand budget on 30 May. The protest was in opposition to the National-led government perceived assault on
Tangata whenua and the
Treaty of Waitangi. The party urged all Māori to go on strike and attend
hīkoi (protests) near their location. Protest action includes a car convoy travelling from
State Highway 1 south of Auckland to
Hamilton. Te Pāti Māori claimed that 100,000 people attended the "car-koi activation" rallies nationwide and advocated the establishment of a Māori parliament. On 14 November 2024, Te Pāti Māori MP
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke along with co-leaders Waititi, Ngarewa-Packer and Labour MP
Peeni Henare led a protest
haka (
Ka Mate) that disrupted vote proceedings during the first reading of
ACT party leader
David Seymour's contentious
Treaty Principles Bill. On 10 December, the four were referred to Parliament's Privileges Committee for their disruptive actions. In late March 2025, the Privileges Committee ruled that Henare had acted in a "disorderly" way in joining the TPM-led haka but ruled that his actions did not amount to "contempt." On 14 May 2025, the Committee found Maipi-Clarke, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer in contempt of Parliament. Maipi-Clarke was suspended from Parliament for seven days while Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer were suspended for 21 days. Te Pāti denounced the suspensions as an attempt by colonial powers to intimidate Māori. On 5 June, Parliament voted to uphold the suspensions of the three TPM MPs. In response, the party denounced the suspensions with President John Tamihere announcing that the three suspended MPs would be embarking on a national tour to rally opposition against the Government's proposed
Regulatory Standards Bill. On 4 February 2025, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer proposed the creation of a Parliamentary Commissioner for
Te Tiriti o Waitangi, who would have extraordinary powers to audit bills and issue a "Tiriti veto" if policy and bills did not comply with the Treaty. They said this would be a "bottomline" in any coalition negotiations during events leading up to
Waitangi Day at the Treaty Grounds. In response, ACT leader Seymour accused Te Pāti Māori of attempting to "break democracy" and urged Labour leader
Chris Hipkins to rule out such as policy. Hipkins said he would not support TPM's policy for a Te Tiriti Commissioner with the powers to overturn law but added he was open to ensuring there were better "checks and balances" in New Zealand's constitutional framework. On 10 April 2025, Te Pāti Māori announced that the party would be standing candidates in general seats at the
2026 New Zealand general election. On 31 July 2025, the party filed urgent
High Court proceedings calling on the Electoral Commission,
Ministry of Justice and the Ombudsman to investigate allegations that Māori voters had been removed from the Māori electoral roll or shifted to the general roll without their consent. On 6 September 2025, Te Pāti Māori's candidate and former broadcaster
Oriini Kaipara won a
landslide victory in the
2025 Tāmaki Makaurau by-election, retaining the
Tāmaki Makaurau electorate for the party. The Tāmaki Makaurau electorate had been vacated by the death of sitting TPM MP
Takutai Tarsh Kemp on 26 June 2025.
2025-26 internal conflict In mid-September 2025, the party's
Te Tai Tokerau MP
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was replaced as
party whip by co-leader
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, with party president
John Tamihere alleging that Kapa-Kingi had become detached from her constituents. On 2 October 2025, the Toitū Te Tiriti's leader
Eru Kapa-Kingi — the son of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi — confirmed that the group would formally sever relations with Te Pāti Māori, citing concerns about alleged bullying, authoritarian leadership, a clash of values, and the need for independence. In response, Te Pāti Māori rejected allegations of bullying and authoritarian leadership, and claimed that its decision-making process was transparent and compliant with its constitution. On 9 October, the party's co-leaders announced plans to "reset" the party following internal conflict. On 14 October, Te Pāti Māori circulated an internal email to its membership, alleging various indiscretions by both Eru and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. The email alleged that Eru racially abused a parliamentary security guard, and that Mariameno failed to pay her staffers and exceeded her parliamentary office budget by NZ$133,000. In late October 2025,
Waatea News reported that the party's membership had voted to recommend suspending Mariameno and "resetting" the party's Te Tai Tokerau electorate executive. Between late October and early November 2025, former executive member Amokura Panoho and former vice-president Eru Kapa-Kingi called for John Tamihere's resignation as party president. On 3 November, Tamihere publicly called on Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and
Tākuta Ferris, MP for
Te Tai Tonga, to resign, claiming that in July 2025 the pair had conspired to oust and replace party leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and
Rawiri Waititi. Amidst tensions between the party leadership and Kapa-Kingi and Ferris, the
National Iwi Chairs Forum met with co-leaders Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer on 4 November in an attempt to defuse tensions within the party. On 9 November, the national council of Te Pāti Māori voted to expel both Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris. Ferris called the decision "plainly unconstitutional" and Kapa-Kingi said she would appeal. On 19 November, former Māori Party MP
Hone Harawira called for Kapa-Kingi and Ferris to be reinstated as members and for a national reconciliation tour. On 4 December 2025, Kapa-Kingi filed an interim injunction at the
Wellington High Court challenging Te Pāti Māori's decision to expel her. Her legal team argued that her suspension and expulsion process violated the party's constitution and basic principles of fairness. Key arguments included that no proper disciplinary body had been constituted, that no adequate hearing or notice was provided, and that her membership cancellation process was unfair. The following day, Justice Paul Radich reinstated Kapa-Kingi's membership of the party. However, Radich declined her three other requests, which included removing Tamihere as Te Pāti Māori's president, stopping the party's annual general meeting scheduled for 6-7 December, and preventing the party's national council and executive from passing further resolutions. Te Pāti Māori's 2025 annual general meeting was held on 7 December at
Waiatuhi marae in
Rotorua, which was attended by 200 people including Kapa-Kingi. During the AGM, president Tamihere identified the National-led coalition government as the party's enemy. Several speakers including former
Kiingitanga spokesperson Ngira Simmonds raised the issue of disunity and infighting within the party, with Simmonds questioning Tamihere, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer's suitability to lead Te Pāti Māori. On 10 March 2026, Te Pāti Māori stated it would comply with Justice Radich's order to reinstate Kapa-Kingi's party membership, allowing her to participate in party meetings and functions. == Principles and policy ==