Meka Whaitiri rebellion hones parties' loyalties

Meka Whaiti's defection brings Labour's solid 65-strong majority down to 62, opening it up to accusations of disunity and instability. Lumping in Elizabeth Kerekere's resignation from the Greens, National's Christopher Luxon has been criticising the left as a 'coalition of chaos' - but the story on the right is not straightforward either. The shifting of the political sands - in the wake of two MPs quitting their parties - has drawn more definitive battle lines regardless - and Luxon's decision to rule out Te Pāti Māori has given prospective partner ACT more leverage for negotiations. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson surveys the battle lines after Meka Whaitiri's defection and National's rejection of Te Pāti Māori. Meka Whaitiri, who quit Labour to join Te Pāti Māori. She technically remains an independent MP in Parliament. "Maybe we just didn't know her like we thought we knew her" - Willie JacksonMeka Whaiti's defection brings Labour's solid 65-strong majority down to 62, opening it up to accusations of disunity and instability. Lumping in Elizabeth Kerekere's resignation from the Greens, National's Christopher Luxon has been criticising the left as a 'coalition of chaos' - but the story on the right is not straightforward either. The shifting of the political sands - in the wake of two MPs quitting their parties - has drawn more definitive battle lines regardless, and Luxon's decision to rule out Te Pāti Māori has given prospective partner ACT more leverage for negotiations. Listen to the full podcast Labour Ministers and MPs were caught off guard last week when long-time colleague Meka Whaitiri, the MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, defected to Te Pāti Māori. It means one fewer vote in Parliament and less funding for Labour, and prompted debate over whether she could even remain an MP under the party-hopping law. In the end, the Speaker Adrian Rurawhe ruled she would stay, technically as an independent. He says he's unable to release his communications with her; she could, but has not. So Whaitiri turned up to Parliament on Tuesday, flanked by the Pāti Māori co-leaders, and speaking in vague terms about her reasons. "Freedom. Liberation, as to talk on those issues that matter to our people and unashamedly without any censoring, and I'm going to do that for the people I represent going forward," she told reporters. Labour's MPs disputed her claims of being "shackled", and as the political week drew to a close were none the wiser about exactly why she had left their ranks. Many expressed disappointment at Whaitiri's no-contact approach, even after she'd gone public. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details