Te Pāti Māori: Mariameno Kapa-Kingi MP for Te Tai Tokerau takes the Māori Party to the High Court challenging the President & EXPULSION (Copy)
UPDATE: Judgment is reserved until 4pm on Friday 5th December 2025.
Kia ora whānau, it's your boy TLO here, back at it on the blog because if I don't call out the bullshit in Māori politics, who will? We've got Te Pāti Māori imploding faster than a bad hui after too much kai, and today's High Court drama is the cherry on top of this clusterfuck. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi – yeah, that fierce wahine from Te Tai Tokerau – just dragged her "purported expulsion" through the courts, and I'm here for every second of it. John Tamihere and his executive cronies? They need to pack their bags and piss off. This ain't leadership; it's a dictatorship wrapped in a korowai.
Let's rewind the tape on this mess, because if you're like me and you've been glued to X watching the fireworks, you know it's been brewing since November. Back in early November, Kapa-Kingi and her mate Tākuta Ferris got the boot from the party. Why? "Serious breaches" of the constitution, they say. Bullshit. It all kicked off with some projected overspend in the Te Tai Tokerau budget – projected, folks, not actual. Steps were taken to fix it, signed off by one of the co-leaders, and poof, no harm done. But oh no, that wasn't enough for the Tamihere thought police. Then her son Eru pipes up publicly, and suddenly Mariameno's negative comments about the party (which came *after* Tamihere's snitch letter on the budget) are the end of the world.
Fast forward: National council meeting to seal the deal, but get this – they excluded her whole electorate from voting. Only four out of seven chairs bothered to show, with Te Tai Tonga and Hauraki Waikato sitting it out. Quorum? Barely. Authority? Sketchy as hell. Kapa-Kingi calls it unconstitutional, a breach of tikanga and mana, and straight-up denial of natural justice. No face-to-face, no mediation (kanohi ki te kanohi, anyone?), just a quick stab in the back to keep the media from "exploding," as Tamihere's lawyer Davey Salmon KC whined in court today.
Speaking of court – today's the day it all boiled over in Wellington High Court before Justice Paul Radich. Kapa-Kingi, via her sharp-as lawyer Mike Colson KC, is gunning for reinstatement, Tamihere's head on a pike (removal from presidency), and full access to the party's AGM this weekend in Rotorua. The party's already advertising for a new candidate in Te Tai Tokerau for 2026, like she's yesterday's rubbish. Insulting? Her lawyer called the two-hour AGM invite "insulting," and I'm with him – it's like inviting the king to his own funeral for the canapés.
Colson laid it out crystal: "She's immediately seeking clarification as to how the constitution has been applied." And on the budget? "What happened here is there was a projected overspend. So there was no actual overspend... Steps were taken to remedy that." Boom. Mariameno herself? She's all about de-escalation, wanting that mediated space to keep the "spirit and intent of Te Pāti Māori" alive, standing for what's *pono* and *tika*. Respect to her for that – in a party that's forgotten how to whakawhanaungatanga, she's the last one holding the line.
Tamihere's camp? Salmon KC spun it like the council's the "primary heavy lifter of hard decisions," no special hearing needed because "common practice" in politics. Yeah, mate, common practice for bullies maybe. They reckon Kapa-Kingi's disengaged and the expulsion's locked in – no AGM for you, love. But here's the kicker: This all ties back to the tragic death of Takutai Tarsh Kemp earlier this year, whose duties Mariameno picked up, leading to the budget hiccup. And whispers of an iwi calling for Tamihere to step down over mistreatment? That's the rot at the core.
Judgment's reserved till 4pm tomorrow – fingers crossed for a smackdown that lets Mariameno storm the AGM on Saturday and spill the tea on the executive. If the expulsions stick, she's barred from voting, appealing, or challenging the leadership. Full hearing's set for February 2, 2026, but whānau, this could torch Te Pāti Māori's unity heading into the election. Their caucus is already fractured, public vibe's tanking, and let's be real – Tamihere's ego is the real overspend here.
As a proud Māori who's sick of woke infiltrators and internal backstabbing weakening our voice, I say: Support this suit 100%. John Tamihere & co. need to go. Māori politics deserves better than this circus – real warriors fighting for *all* of us, not just their mates. Buckle up; shit's getting exciting. What's your take? Hit the comments, share this, and let's keep the pressure on.
Kia kaha, whānau. Stand tall.
#TePātiMāori #MāoriPolitics #PutNZFirst
Sources: RNZ coverage, court filings, and my two cents from watching this unfold on X. Stay tuned for tomorrow's judgment breakdown.
