Chris Hipkins once again shows his weakness when he parrots the line that MPs “need to be focused on governing in the interests of all New Zealanders.” Let’s be straight up, we all know that’s not the reality. Te Pāti Māori isn’t a party that cares about the broader population, they are racially divisive and obsessed with advancing their own interests.
The reality is far uglier than the rhetoric - they don’t actually care about the average Māori on the streets, the families struggling with meth addiction, or the parents crammed into a Honda Civic on the Paihia beachfront trying to get by. Their focus is narrow, helping their own whānau, filling their own pockets, and protecting their internal fiefdoms.
John Tamihere is the embodiment of that grift. The Don of the so-called ‘Tamihere Crime Family’, he has milked the taxpayer gravy train for years, all while the communities he claims to represent continue to struggle. The recent turmoil with MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris exposes the internal rot that the party operates under a dictatorship model, focused on loyalty over competence, and loyalty over actually delivering results for the people.
Hipkins’ bland call for inclusivity and “all New Zealanders” just highlights how out of touch he is. He pretends there is fairness in a political system where parties like Te Pāti Māori reward the elite few at the top while ordinary Māori are left behind. Weak leadership doesn’t change reality, Tamihere and his crew make sure of that.
The original Te Pati Maori founders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia were honourable and sincere in advocating for all Māori and were well respected. In contrast since Rawhiti Waititi and John Tamihere have taken charge it has become a self-serving political circus achieving divisive politics through racism, poor behaviour and lack of respect for anyone not “the right type of Māori”.
What I can’t understand is why they have got away with this behaviour for years. Is there no legal way it can be stopped??