Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Former NZ First MP says party's return counterproductive

Updated at 6:34 am on 28 November 2011

Former New Zealand First MP Rana Waitai says the party's leader, Winston Peters, will bring a counterproductive element to Parliament, with neither the Green nor the Labour parties wanting to work with him.

New Zealand First has returned from a three-year absence to secure eight seats after gaining 6.8% of the vote at the election on Saturday.

Mr Waitai was the MP for Te Puku o te Whenua from 1996 -1999. He was one of the New Zealand First "tight five", who won all five Maori seats in the 1996 general election.

He says he doubts there will be much co-operation between New Zealand First and the other opposition parties.

Mr Waitai says he doesn't envy the politicians who will have to work with New Zealand First, the majority being from Labour and the Greens.

He says it will be a dysfunctional relationship because neither party gets along with Mr Peters.

''It's going to be a real schomozzle there,'' he said.

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