As the spotlight turns on Te Pāti Māori following a major by-election win and controversy over an MP’s social media posts that have been labelled “racist”, the party has quietly removed one of its MPs from the role of whip
In a move described by the Clerk of the House as “uncommon” Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has taken over as party whip from MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.
With the removal of this role, Kapa-Kingi – who has held the position since December 2023 – will take a $19,000 pay cut. Ngarewa-Packer will not receive a payrise over and above her co-leader salary of $202,600.
Party whips are responsible for keeping track of MPs’ whereabouts, casting votes on behalf of their party, settling disputes within caucus, and giving leave for absences.
The internal role swap, which was dated on the Parliament website as having taken place on Tuesday, comes at a time when the party is under the spotlight.
Last weekend saw Te Pāti Māori newbie Oriini Kaipara secure a resounding win over Labour’s Peeni Henare in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. But the win has been overshadowed during the past week by controversial social media posts by MP Tākuta Ferris and a stand-off between the party and some members of the mainstream media.
When Newsroom called Kapa-Kingi to ask about the change, she refused to speak about why she was no longer the party’s whip, despite seemingly performing well in the role during the past two years
“I won’t be able to comment on it at this point. I’m sorry,” she said, adding that she couldn’t say why she couldn’t comment. She said Ngarewa-Packer might be able to say something on the party’s behalf.
In response to questions from Newsroom, the co-leader said the reason for the change was to help “release MPs for their large electorate mahi & kaupapa as we move into 2026”.
When asked whether any consideration was given to the pay cut Kapa-Kingi would experience, Ngarewa-Packer said: “Our caucus discusses everything. Our priority is to repeat the success of what we did in Tāmaki Makaurau, get rid of this govt and be determining the next govt.”
Ngarewa-Packer said she had stood in as party whip before and did the role as co-leader for the first three years she was in Parliament, “so it’s a norm for us”.
(At the time, she and co-leader Rawiri Waititi were Te Pāti Māori’s only two MPs.)
Others pointed out that while there was no rule against a party leader or co-leader holding the whip’s role, it was unconventional and concentrated power and responsibility in one place.
It also meant Ngarewa-Packer was more likely to be included on influential parliamentary committees, like the Privileges Committee, the Business Committee and Standing Orders Committee, which will soon start reviewing the rules of Parliament ahead of next term.
“Although it’s uncommon for a party leader to be a whip, there’s nothing preventing it,” Clerk of the House David Wilson said in a written response to Newsroom’s questions.
“The House generally doesn’t concern itself with the inner workings of parties.”
Party leaders and whips were both able to give permission for members to be absent or cast proxy votes.
“Where the whip and leader are the same person, obviously there are fewer people to exercise those powers,” Wilson said.
As a small party (six MPs), made up entirely of electorate MPs with large electorates to cover, Te Pāti Māori MPs were often absent from the House during sitting days.
It is not unusual for only Kapa-Kingi, or just a couple of Te Pāti Māori MPs, to be seen in Parliament in the second half of the sitting week as others got out into their electorates. The co-leaders were almost never in Parliament on a Thursday, as was convention for leaders of most parties.
In the absence of the co-leaders – one of whom is now also the party whip – authority would have to be given to another MP to cast proxy votes on any bills or motions on behalf of the party. If no Te Pāti Māori MPs are present in the House, the party could organise in advance for another party (historically the Greens) to cast votes on its behalf.
While Ngarewa-Packer said the change was a procedural one to allow MPs to get campaigning underway ahead of the 2026 election, it comes at a time of heightened scrutiny and discussion around the party.
During the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election campaign, MP Tākuta Ferris commented on a photo of Labour Party members of different ethnicities campaigning during the by-election.
“This blows my mind,” Ferris wrote. “Indians, Asians, Black and Pakeha campaigning to take a Maori seat from Maori.”
Labour Party senior MP and Māori seats campaign chair Willie Jackson outright called the post and Ferris’ sentiment racist, as did MPs from the other side of the House.
Meanwhile, Te Pāti Māori apologised and said Ferris had been instructed to remove the post. And Ngarewa-Packer called both the Greens and Labour to reiterate that Ferris’ post did not reflect the party’s position.
However, a few days later, the MP returned to social media with an eight-minute video doubling down on his comments and saying Labour was “homogenising Māori”.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins had previously shied away from labelling Ferris’ as racist, saying the language was not inclusive, saying: “If that reflects the position that the Māori Party will be campaigning on, then that’s going to be very, very difficult for Labour to work with.”
But after Ferris defended his earlier comments in the lengthy video, posted late at night, Hipkins was again asked if Ferris was making racist comments, to which he responded: “I think he’s getting well into that territory now.”
Labour is now also facing questions on if, or how, the party could work constructively with Te Pāti Māori after next year’s election, should they find themselves in a position to form a government.
Beyond the social media post, Te Pāti Māori has also been fending off criticism over its approach to media access during the by-election.
Only selected media outlets were given access to certain campaign events and Kaipara’s election night event.
The following day, Kaipara, with members of the party and party staff, had a stand-off with 1 News reporters over the refusal of an interview.
Ngarewa-Packer posted on social media about what she alleged was “predatory media behaviour”.
“Reporters pouncing out of bushes, hidden camera ppl, turning up to kura without whānau knowledge or permission, creating alarm at malls, chasing us into lifts, even today screaming at us why wont we allow interviews, filming it to heighten the drama for their 6pm viewership.”
The reporters and news organisation the co-leader was referring to disputed the allegations and when asked by the media to name exactly who was hiding in the bushes, the co-leader did not offer a response.
While Newsroom understands this dispute has since been resolved, between the spat with media and Ferris’ post, the co-leaders have spent very little time talking about the party’s by-election win since returning to Parliament this week.
Kaipara is understood to be travelling to Wellington during this parliamentary sitting block, and will officially join the team once she’s sworn in as an MP.
