Te Pāti MāoriRecord as of June 2026

Te Pāti Māori

The Māori Party - an opposition party in the 2023-present Parliament

Co-leaders: Rawiri Waititi & Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

Te Pāti Māori sits in opposition, so this is not a "promised vs. delivered" scorecard - an opposition party holds no ministerial levers. Instead it records what the party has put forward, how its MPs have conducted themselves, the questions raised about it, and what its MPs are paid. Every figure links to a primary source.

Te Pāti Māori grew from 2 seats in 2020 to 6 of the 7 Māori electorate seats at the 2023 election, on a party vote of 3.08%. Co-led by Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, it became the most disruptive force of the 54th Parliament.

Since then its term has been turbulent: the longest suspensions in New Zealand parliamentary history, an unresolved data-privacy controversy, the death of an MP and a by-election, and an internal split that ended in the High Court. This is the documented record - follow the receipts yourself.

At a glance

The shape of the party this term, in three numbers.

2 → 6
seats won

Up from 2 seats in 2020 to 6 of the 7 Māori electorates in 2023 - four taken directly off sitting Labour electorate MPs.

Source: Electoral Commission - 2023 official results
3.08%
party vote, 2023

Its share of the nationwide party vote - its electorate wins, not its list vote, drive its presence in Parliament.

Source: Electoral Commission - 2023 official results
4
MPs by mid-2026

Down from 6 after two MPs were expelled in November 2025 and sat as independents - one later reinstated by the High Court, then left to form her own party.

Source: RNZ - Te Pāti Māori splits as MP announces new party

The MPs elected in 2023

All six 2023 MPs held Māori electorate seats. The notes below record who they defeated and what has happened since.

Rawiri Waititi

Waiariki · co-leader

Party co-leader since October 2020. Suspended 21 sitting days in June 2025 over the Treaty Principles Bill haka.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

Te Tai Hauauru · co-leader

Party co-leader since April 2020. Won an open Labour-held seat (the incumbent did not contest it). Also suspended 21 sitting days in June 2025.

Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke

Hauraki-Waikato

Defeated Labour's Nanaia Mahuta by 2,911 votes. Elected at 21, the youngest MP in about 170 years. Led the November 2024 haka; suspended 7 sitting days.

Takutai Tarsh Kemp

Tāmaki Makaurau

Defeated Labour's Peeni Henare by 4 votes (widened to 42 on a judicial recount). Died in office in June 2025, triggering a by-election.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi

Te Tai Tokerau

Defeated Labour's Kelvin Davis by 517 votes. Expelled by the party in Nov 2025, reinstated by the High Court in March 2026, then left in May 2026 to form her own party.

Takutai (Tākuta) Ferris

Te Tai Tonga

Defeated Labour's Rino Tirikatene. Expelled by the party in Nov 2025; did not contest it and has since sat as an independent.

Source: RNZ - Te Pāti Māori wins 6 of the 7 Māori electorates

What they've put forward

An opposition party is judged on what it proposes and how it votes. These are the party's own stated positions and the bills it has actually lodged - presented neutrally.

Remove GST from food

Defeated at first reading

Rawiri Waititi's member's bill to take GST off all food and non-alcoholic drinks was defeated 117-6 at its first reading on 20 March 2024 - Te Pāti Māori was the only party to support it; National, ACT, NZ First, Labour and the Greens all voted against.

Source: The Spinoff - Waititi's GST-off-food bill explained

A wealth tax and tax-free threshold

Party policy

Its 2023 tax policy proposed a tax-free band to $30,000 and a top income rate of 48% over $300,000, plus a wealth tax of 2-8% on net wealth above $2m, and company tax back to 33%. The party projected it would raise about $23 billion a year (its own estimate).

Source: interest.co.nz - Te Pāti Māori's proposed tax changes

An independent Māori Parliament

Declaration of intent

On 30 May 2024 the party issued a declaration, "Te Ngākau o Te Iwi Māori", calling for the establishment of an independent Māori Parliament asserting Māori sovereignty. It is a declaration of intent, not an established institution.

Source: Te Ao Māori News - declaration to set up a Māori Parliament

A Mokopuna Māori Authority for tamariki care

In the members' ballot

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi lodged a member's bill (in the ballot in February 2025) proposing a Māori authority to take over the care of Māori children from Oranga Tamariki. The party described it as aspirational.

Source: Waatea News - Kapa-Kingi proposes Māori authority for tamariki

Their policy platform

Te Pāti Māori's stated positions across the major policy areas - part of the wider side-by-side comparison of every party.

Tax & cost of living

A tax-free first $30,000, a 48% top rate over $300,000, and a wealth tax of 2%/4%/8% above $2m/$5m/$10m; remove GST from all food.

Housing

A "Whānau Build" programme for affordable and papakāinga housing, transfer of Crown land to iwi/hapū, and taxes on land-banking and vacant homes.

Health

Free GP and dental care for whānau earning under $60,000, transfer 25% of health funding to the Māori Health Authority, and more funding for Pharmac.

Education

Resource and prioritise kaupapa Māori education and overhaul a mainstream system the party sees as failing Māori.

Climate & environment

A "Tiriti-centric" approach centred on Māori kaitiakitanga; oppose deep-sea oil and gas; Māori-led freshwater and conservation management.

Law & order

A tikanga-based justice system aiming to abolish prisons by 2040, decriminalise drug use, and restore voting rights for all prisoners.

Te Tiriti / Māori

Centre Te Tiriti and tino rangatiratanga across government, uphold tikanga, and pursue constitutional transformation; a proposed Te Tiriti Commissioner.

Economy & infrastructure

Raise the minimum wage to $25/hr immediately, raise company tax to 33%, and grow iwi/Māori economic assets.

Source: Te Pāti Māori - Policy

Conduct in the House: the haka and the record suspensions

During the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill, three Te Pāti Māori MPs performed a haka and crossed the floor toward ACT members during a vote. Parliament's Privileges Committee found this in contempt, and the House imposed the heaviest suspensions in its history. The party rejected the committee's characterisation. Both the finding and the party's response are recorded below.

  1. 14 Nov 2024During the Treaty Principles Bill's first reading, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke begins a haka - joined by co-leaders Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer - and the MPs move across the floor toward ACT during the vote.
  2. Apr 2025The three MPs decline to attend the Privileges Committee hearing, citing concerns about its fairness and process.
  3. 14 May 2025The Privileges Committee finds the MPs in contempt - for conduct that "could have the effect of intimidating" other members during a vote, not for the haka itself - and recommends suspensions and, for the co-leaders, severe censure.
  4. 5 Jun 2025The House votes along party lines to suspend Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer for 21 sitting days each and Maipi-Clarke for 7 - the longest suspensions in New Zealand parliamentary history (the previous record was 3 days). The MPs lose their salary for the period.

The party's response: Te Pāti Māori rejected the committee's characterisation, arguing the punishment was disproportionate and that its MPs were being treated more harshly than Pākehā MPs had been for comparable conduct.

Source: Al Jazeera - NZ Parliament suspends Māori MPs over protest haka

The Manurewa Marae data allegations

In June 2024, allegations surfaced that 2023 Census and COVID-19 vaccination data collected at Manurewa Marae - which had links to the party's campaign - may have been used to benefit Te Pāti Māori. Several official bodies investigated. Here is what each actually found.

Public Service Commission inquiry (Heron KC & Pania Gray)18 Feb 2025

Found that government agencies - chiefly Stats NZ - failed to adequately protect the personal information, but did NOT establish that any data was actually misused. As the Public Service Commissioner put it: "While we don't know if personal information was improperly used, the gate was left open."

Source: Public Service Commission - inquiry findings
New Zealand Police2 Oct 2025

Found insufficient evidence to establish criminal culpability for corruption.

Source: RNZ - Police find insufficient evidence of corruption
Serious Fraud Office2025

Found insufficient grounds to open a fraud investigation.

Source: RNZ - Police find insufficient evidence of corruption
Privacy CommissionerOngoing

A separate inquiry remained unresolved, with no public final conclusion, as of mid-2026.

Source: RNZ - Police find insufficient evidence of corruption

No investigation has found that Te Pāti Māori misused the data. The proven failures were of the government agencies that collected and held it. The allegations against the party itself remain unproven.

A turbulent term: death, by-election and a party split

Beyond the House, the party's own term has been marked by the loss of an MP and an internal rupture that reached the High Court.

  1. 26 Jun 2025MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp dies in office, aged 50, triggering a by-election in Tāmaki Makaurau. (RNZ - Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp dies)
  2. 6 Sep 2025Te Pāti Māori holds the seat: Oriini Kaipara beats Labour's Peeni Henare 6,948 to 3,429 (27.2% turnout), keeping the party on six seats. (Electoral Commission - Tāmaki Makaurau by-election results)
  3. Nov 2025The party's national council votes to expel MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Takutai Ferris; both remain in Parliament as independents. (RNZ - Te Pāti Māori expels Ferris and Kapa-Kingi)
  4. 10 Mar 2026The High Court rules Kapa-Kingi's expulsion unlawful - a breach of the party's own constitution - and reinstates her. Ferris, who did not contest his expulsion, is not reinstated. (RNZ - Kapa-Kingi officially reinstated to Te Pāti Māori)
  5. 11 May 2026Kapa-Kingi announces she is leaving Te Pāti Māori to launch her own Te Tai Tokerau Party for the 2026 election. (RNZ - Te Pāti Māori splits as MP announces new party)

What we pay them

MP pay is set by the independent Remuneration Authority. The co-leader rate depends on how many MPs a party has in the House; with four MPs in mid-2026, Te Pāti Māori sits in the "fewer than 5 members" band. The figures below are the current rates for 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026.

Every claim here is sourced.

This is a factual record of an opposition party - what it proposed, how its MPs acted, and the questions raised about it. Allegations are labelled as allegations. Follow every link to the primary source and judge for yourself.

See all sources & method