31 Jan 2011

Harawira may not attend meeting with party whip

7:07 pm on 31 January 2011

It is unclear whether Maori Party MP Hone Harawira will show up on Tuesday for a face-to-face meeting with party whip Te Ururoa Flavell.

Mr Flavell has laid a complaint against Mr Harawira over comments the MP for Te Tai Tokerau made in a newspaper article criticising the party's relationship with the National Government.

Mr Harawira said the party was coming off the rails and was getting too close to National.

The party's Disciplinary and Disputes Committee is to consider Mr Flavell's complaint on 9 February after a hui in Northland last week failed to resolve the matter.

Maori Party president Pem Bird says a hui will be held near Rotorua on Tuesday when it is hoped the MPs can talk things through, but Mr Harawira has not confirmed that he will attend.

Mr Harawira has not returned calls from Radio New Zealand on Monday.

Electorate excluded

The Maori Party has excluded Mr Harawira's Te Tai Tokerau electorate from the five-member committee that will decide on the complaint.

Mr Bird says that electorate had already decided there is no substance to the complaint. He says the committee includes a wide diversity of tribal wisdom and impressive expertise in legal matters and disputes resolution.

The committee includes representatives from four electorates and will be chaired by Maori Party co-vice president Te Orohi Paul.

The remaining members are Lindsay Puku, Donna Gardiner and Ken Mair from the Maori Party's National Council, and independent member Matiu Dickson, a law lecturer.