Meka whaitiri biography of martin

Soon-to-be-ex minister Meka Whaitiri may be in for a shock if she intended to remain an MP, writes legal eagle Andrew Geddis.

When Shakespeare had Dick the Butcher enthusiastically proclaim “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”, he proposed a generally laudable objective. 

However, there is the odd time when talking to a lawyer before engaging in a major life decision is not just warranted, but highly advisable.

Buying a house on land subject to a cross lease title. Signing an employment contract with a broad non-compete clause in it. Setting fire to your own car in order to claim insurance.

A quick prior chat with someone who knows a little bit about the legal issues involved can save you from a heap of regret down the line.

To such situations we now might add writing to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to inform him that you have quit the party for which you were elected as an MP and want to be recognised as a member of a different one.

Because, as very-soon-to-be-ex customs minister Meka Whaitiri is discovering, this action has quite particular legal consequences. Consequences that, it appears, she may not have fully understood.

At her press conference this morning, Whaitiri said two things. First, she said that she had “officially notified the speaker that [she] had resigned from the NZ Labour Party and have joined Te Pāti Māori effective immediately.” This decision means, she went on to say, that “I intend to be seated with Te Pāti Māori when we return to parliament.”

The problem for Meka Whaitiri is both these things can’t be true. Under the “party hopping” rules in our Electoral Act – rules that Meka Whaitiri voted in favour of back in 2018 – an MP’s seat in the House automatically becomes vacant if they deliver to the Speaker a written notice complying with certain formal requirements.

The MP must have signed the notice. It must be addressed to the speaker. And, it

Uplifting whanau wellbeing the focus

Improving community economic development to lift whanau wellbeing is being pursued by district leaders in partnership with the Central Coalition Government.

Progressing community wellbeing by improving economic and social development is the follow on from last Tuesday’s Kakapa Te Wairoa and Wairoa showcase presentation at Parliament.

The opportunity to present was extended by Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri and gave Wairoa community leaders the forum to showcase its point of difference with all its uniqueness and ingenuity.

Prior to the showcase, a small group presented Kakapa Te Wairoa which featured a range of responses and solutions to Wairoa’s wellbeing state using the district’s cultural richness as its platform.

The document was written by former Wairoa woman Dr Catherine Savage, who has established her own research and development business, Ihi Research, in Christchurch.

Dr Savage said Kakapa Te Wairoa showed the Ministers what Wairoa does well independently of Government funding, and how the Government can engage in Wairoa’s new environment.

“This is about building on the strengths Wairoa has to create a foundation of community-led social innovation and enterprise to bring about sustained change.”

Dr Savage said the proposal is about spreading capability to tackle big issues in social, education and health, in partnership with the state.

“Wairoa has signalled it wants to lead its own change by creating novel solutions that respond to the local interests and values of the community; and where the whānau has control over the process and outcomes.

“Wairoa statistics represent generations of abandonment through inadequate social policy and an over-reliance on trickle-down economic policies.

“The coalition Government’s wellbeing budget offers an unprecedented opportunity for social investment in our community.

“This is the time for Wairoa to pioneer social transformation and demonstrate collective effort to en

The Māori caucus statement that it stands by Meka Whaitiri is simply tikanga in action, writes Morgan Godfery.

Parliament and the Beehive are, as workplaces, uniquely awful. The expectations are high. The hours are punishing. And the work never really stops. There’s correspondence to file, press releases to draft, briefings to read or write, negotiations to be had, and decisions to be made. Keen young folk go in, and sometimes aged hacks come out. You can spot the former staffers roaming Lambton Quay at 1.55pm, asking bystanders whether they can hear a bell ringing too.

Now this isn’t meant as a sledge. Instead it’s another way of saying I sympathise with Meka Whaitiri’s former press secretary. The Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP is accused of grabbing the press secretary’s shoulder, leaving bruising, and giving the presser a bit of a verbal blasting. The facts are in dispute – Whaitiri denies grabbing the press secretary’s shoulder – but the barrister responsible for investigating the incident found that, on the balance of probabilities, the grab happened.

But whether it did or not – do we give MPs the benefit of the doubt? – Parliament and the Beehive are bad and busy enough without your new boss rinsing you after missing an opportunity to, quite literally, stand in a background shot. Press secretaries are so often on the edge. Waiting for the next phone call, the next event, and the next mistake. It’s not only a challenging job – it’s a challenging state of being. The best ministers understand this, and they treat their staffers with patience.

In this case, that patience appears to have gone missing, and whether a grab happened or not the prime minister made the right to call to remove Whaitiri’s ministerial portfolios. In an ideal world the issue would end here. Instead the rumour mongers got to work. “I wish Meka would fight for charter schools as hard as people say she fights her staff,” wrote Act leader