Te Pāti Māori’s politics of grievance delivers nothing for Māori
You may remember when I wrote about the race-based leave scandal exposed by Duncan Garner on his podcast. The thinking behind that policy was familiar: identity first, accountability later, criticism treated as hostility. The same mindset plays out every week in Parliament, most visibly through Te Pāti Māori.
Question time is where MPs are meant to earn their keep. Ministers front. Oppositions challenge. The public gets to see who is working. Too often, Te Pāti Māori treats it like optional viewing. There are days when one MP shows up, sometimes none. Every other party manages attendance as a basic obligation. Te Pāti Māori does not.
What has Te Pāti Māori actually delivered for Māori?
Supporters point to the large protest opposing the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill. It looked impressive on the streets. It achieved nothing in Parliament. National had already said the bill would not be supported beyond the second reading. Everyone involved knew it was going nowhere. The protest changed no votes and shifted no outcomes. It was theatre.
There is a stronger argument rarely acknowledged. The Treaty Principles Bill, for all the outrage it generated, would at least have forced clarity. Clear rules, equal citizenship, fewer backroom reinterpretations. Certainty helps people plan their lives. Confusion keeps power concentrated among a few. Te Pāti Māori chose spectacle over substance.
What has remained constant is personal benefit. Based on parliamentary expenditure reports released this year, co-leader Rawiri Waititi was identified as the highest-spending MP over a 21-month period, clocking up $273,681 in expenses. The base salary for an ordinary MP is $168,600 a year. Those numbers speak for themselves.
Attendance is poor. Outcomes are thin. Spending is generous.
This is not radical politics. It is comfortable politics. It relies on grievance to excuse absence, symbolism to mask inaction, and moral language to deflect scrutiny. Meanwhile, Māori families dealing with housing, education, crime, and cost of living pressures see no material improvement from the party that claims to speak for them.
The pattern mirrors the Oranga Tamariki scandal. Identity-based privilege justified by lofty words, insulated from challenge, paid for by everyone else. Inside the public service it breeds resentment. Inside Parliament it breeds cynicism.
Politics should be judged on results. By that standard, Te Pāti Māori has delivered protests that changed nothing, attendance that insults voters, and expenses that enrich its own leadership. That is not representation. It is the ultimate grift.
I wrote this before NZ First announced they’d be looking at holding a referendum on the Māori seats. I’ll be digging into that properly over the weekend. Bloody good news! Hope everyone has a great weekend - I'm already counting down to 5 pm.