Te Pāti Māori apologises for breaching privilege rule
Te Pāti Māori has apologised for posting a draft report from the privileges committee on Instagram.
Photo:
RNZ / REECE BAKER
Te Pāti Māori has apologised for posting a draft report from the privileges committee on Instagram, which breaches the rules of privilege.
It comes ahead of the committees meeting tonight to discuss complaints against three of the party's MPs who conducted a haka in the House in November.
Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the Instagram post was a mistake made "internally", and the party was reviewing it.
"We were aware that an Instagram put up last night created a little bit of tension for the chair of the Privileges Committee."
She said no MP, including the co-leaders, were responsible for that.
"We have sent an apology to the chair to say, no - you're right, you've got us on that."
The Party's alternative independent hearing set down for Wednesday did not go ahead due to urgency.
Ngarewa-Packer said they'll wait for the decision from the committee on Wednesday night before they decide next steps, but they aren't backing down from a "battle of the cultures".
But she expected the committee to "make an example of us".
"We are expecting some unprecedented sanctions and punishment, but there's some things you've got to come in here and stand really strong for," she said.
"We won't back down on what it is that we meant through the haka, and where tikanga fits in this place."
Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke was among those to perform a haka, at Parliament, after the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill, on 14 November, 2024.
Photo:
RNZ/ Samuel Rillstone
She said Parliament wasn't designed to accommodate "for us as Māori, and include tikanga".
"We will continue to do what we've done from day one which is to push back," she said.
"It's an ongoing battle of the cultures, and Te Pāti Māori will continue to front that."
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