Will there be Mana in the House...

There will be MANA in the house ? At long last!

"Something very important happened on Saturday night. For the first time in nearly a century, a revolutionary was elected to the New Zealand Parliament." - Chris Trotter, 28 June 2011



At 2pm on Thursday 14 July 2011, Hone Harawira will be called back into the house where he will be sworn in and take his seat as the leader of MANA, Movement of the People.



Following his swearing in, Hone will give his first speech as MANA leader and its first MP. All supporters of MANA are invited to join with his whanau from the Tai Tokerau to celebrate this wonderful occasion

Voxy NZ

KR says:

Well, thats the opinion of Voxy, but I'm waiting for the general elections. A good win there for Mr Mana could well see a change in the political system here in NZ. A wonderful occasion? I think that is a little premature. The great political redeemer, champion of the poor? I remember Hone as the rascist big-mouth Maori seperatist son of Titiiwhai the rabid female rabble-rouser with a doubtful past . Does a leopard change its spots? Bullshit and jellybeans, perhaps!

Hone and Mana - become a leader with real mana...

Hone and Mana- become a leader with real mana...

Please view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O13SpVjePY


Well that was the easy part Hone Harawira. You have done all the talking, the big-mouthing and the audacious. You are no longer a Maori Party MP for the North - Te Tai Tokerau, but leader of the Mana Party. You now claim to be the representative of the poor and disadvantaged, Maori or Pakeha. Well there are just a few months to the general elections.  You took a margin of thousands and reduced it to hundreds. You now have real opposition in the form of Labour's Kelvin Davis, and you will be out of a job if you lose to him in November. If you win and win well, you could be joined by some compadres in the House of Representatives. You could also be a catalyst for change in government. Phil Goff said he won't work with you in a coalition, but if Goff found he could become prime minister,  he'll find some place on the front benches for the leader of Mana with some real mana?

Hone Harawira takes on the Maori Party...

Hone Harawira takes on the Maori Party...




Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has threatened electoral war against the Maori Party after claiming it broke a deal struck with him when he resigned from its ranks in February.



Maori Party president Pem Bird last night confirmed the party had resolved to stand a candidate against Hone Harawira should he call a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau.



Mr Harawira today said that went against an agreement brokered between him and the Maori Party before his resignation from the party, where he said he would not field candidates in Maori electorates in return for the party not standing against him in Te Tai Tokerau.



The deal was now off and Mana was considering standing candidates in every Maori electorate, Mr Harawira said.



"Despite massive pressure by many people to put candidates up against the Maori Party MPs, I have resisted the temptation because I believe it is important to stand behind a promise you make.



"Mana accepts that the agreement is effectively redundant because of the Maori Party's actions. Whether Mana will now offer a strong candidate in every Maori electorate at the general election will be a matter we will determine after the by-election."



He said he would strongly contest the Te Tai Tokerau seat against any challengers and painted the Maori Party as a potential ally of new Act leader Don Brash.



"The voters of Te Tai Tokerau have two clear choices; an un-named candidate whose party is happy to join Don Brash, or a candidate who has already stood up to Brash and has always shown a commitment to Maori rights.



"I look forward to seeing what choice the voters of Te Tai Tokerau make."



A Maori Party spokeswoman said Mr Harawira was the one who broke his deal with the party when he announced he may force a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau.



The deal included an agreement Mr Harawira would remain an independent MP up until the November general election, she said.



Mr Bird said it was up to the Mana Party whether it wanted to contest the other Maori electorates. "We are prepared for any eventuality."



Maori Party leader Tariana Turia said she believed the abusive behaviour directed at her by Mr Harawira's mother and sister Titewhai and Hinewhare Harawira in a hui at Waitangi's Te Tii Marae showed they were nervous about Hone's chances.



"Otherwise why would you come to a hui that wasn't your hui, threaten people who were attending by writing their names down and being rude and abusive?"


The Labour Party, if it decides to stand a candidate, could gain from the controversy - they could come through the middle and take back the seat they lost a few years ago. Labour always takes a majority of party votes anyway.



Acknowledgements:  NZ Herald staff

So the Mana by-election was a victory for the Gnats - haha...

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeSo the Mana by-election was a victory for the Gnats - haha...

It was always going to be difficult for the Labour candidate Kris Faafoi, he was unknown and up against a seasoned candidate in Hekia Parata.Nobody was going to replace Winnie Laban in a hurry. Her sudden decision to leave politics has never really been discussed.

There were a couple of other good candidates standing which pulled votes off the Labour candidate. But he won and won by over a thousand votes. About 47% of voters bothered to vote, remembering it was postal voting too, which does not guarantee people to vote.

He will triple his majority at next years general elections and double that three years later.

I don't think that Phil Goff had too much an influence on the result; but his inability to find some traction is of concern to the Labour Party.

Labour won and the Gnats came second. Next years general elections will be determined also by the re-emergence of New Zealand First who received 4.5% of the vote at the last elections. I expect Rodney Hide to be defeated, the Maori Party to decline because of their association with National, the Greens to increase their percentage of votes, and New Zealand First to poll at least 5% of the vote. If they go with Labour and the Greens it will be goodbye nurse despite whatever Labour was showing in the pre-election polls. And who cares how popular John key may still be - he may well be a popular political corpse!

Related articles

• "Mana by-election" and related posts (tumeke.blogspot.com)
• "Labour's mistake in Mana almost cost them the 2011 election" and related posts (tumeke.blogspot.com)
• Labour's Kris Faafoi wins Mana by-election (nzherald.co.nz)
• PM sets Mana by-election date (nzherald.co.nz)
• Mana throws up jubilant losers and defiant winners (nzherald.co.nz)