Hone Harawira has criticised the Maori Party for being in coalition with National, even though he was a member of it at the time. He’s also criticising the party for contemplating entering a coalition with National again after the election.
One of National’s campaign policies was the abolition of the Maori Seats. If it hadn’t been in coalition with the Maori Party it would have followed through and done that. But this was one of the policies National gave way on during coalition negotiations.
As far as I know it is still National policy to get rid of the seats. It’s definitely Act policy.
If there’s a National led government after this year’s election with Act as a coalition partner and without the Maori Party it’s a safe bet the seats will go.
Homepaddock 
Hey John Hatfield, if you can read, abolishing the race based seats was a fundamental part of the deal when the MMP rort that has been shamelessly used by many political wannabes ever since it was introduced.
That fact allied with the completely manipulative outcome for the uneducated in the so called deal between T W Ratana and Micheal Joseph Savage that left most Maori in the vault of votes taken for granted by various political thieves since the 1930s leads me to the conclusion that successive National Party figures have shown more regard for the aspirations of all Maori that many of the charlatans who have just used that voting bloc.
Ralph Hannan, Jack Marshal, Keith Holyoake, Doug Kidd and more recently Douglas Graham, all progressed Maori aspirations often to the dismay of many of their political supporters.
Read a bit of history Hatfield, you racist pillock, and show a bit of true leadership for all Maori and not just your welfare, substance addled idlers in the far north.
Your references to “partnership, tino rangitiratanga, and all the other divisive BS” you employ in your quest for relevancy is being swamped by the acceptance of too many of your race in the progress of “our” country. For a reference to that fact just research a bit of the success of Maori who escape the stiffling race based grievance industry and succeed on the world stage, particularly Australia, but of course that good news is skewed by the fact that those of your ethnicity who have managed to get a criminal conviction on their CV are somewhat disadvantaged when trying to get access to other countries a salient fact that hangs over those of us who choose to live here.
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Woooo! Better watch out Maori Party. If you don’t stay inside National’s tent, they’ll chop your seats, against your wishes! Nice friends!
National will however, need 75% support for such an action, ne ra?
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Robert, the Maori seats are anachronistic. Plenty of political platforms for Maori to get their view across- there have never been so many.
Try defining who are Maori, today. And do not forget the diversity of individual Maori and achievements.
The Maori Party does not represent Maori nor does Hone, Green, or Labour.
Maori seats are a crutch that need to be removed.
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So you say Richard but I’m not believing you. I suppose you also say, like Brash, One Law for All.
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