Te Pāti Māori President John Tamihere says Tākuta Ferris has been given “clear instruction,” though he would not reveal details.
He said the party is using tikanga processes to address the matter.
“We have hohou rongo, we have tikanga galore where we settle these issues. It’s not for us to put one of our members out in the colosseum and to whip them to death in front of a crowd,” Tamihere said.
Te Tai Tonga MP, Tākuta Ferris came under fire last week after posting on Facebook criticising non-Māori Labour volunteers helping to campaign for Labour’s Peeni Henare in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
The post was deleted, and Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders apologised. However, late Tuesday night, Tākuta, in an 8-minute video, doubled down on the post.
Both the Greens and Labour Leaders said Te Pāti Māori leaders called them to apologise once again.
Speaking to Stuff on Thursday night, Tākuta said the post was not an attack on multicultural New Zealand but rather an attack on “the way that the major parties in this country use multicultural New Zealand to diminish Māori rights.”
Tamihere backed that view, saying he wrote a Facebook post himself saying exactly what Tākuta noted, but in a “different way, a more palatable way,” he said.
“Our tikanga is, we don’t leave anyone behind, and we don’t get run over by other others and their cultures.”
Pressed for further details around solutions to the controversy, Tamihere declined.
“Why would I have a court case against a member of a party solely because there are a couple of missteps? I will not put his head on a plate just for people’s satisfaction.”
Tamihere also addressed the demotion of MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi from party whip, saying it was because she had not been visible enough in her electorate.
“She is tethered to the House. She is up against two powerhouses up there, and she has to get back into the electorate and work it. This is mana-enhancing for her,” he said.
