Te Pāti Māori disputes 2025

The story so far

Te Pāti Māori's Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp died in June aged 50 after a battle with kidney disease, which triggered a by-election for the seat.^{26 Jun 2025; 1 Jul 2025} Te Pāti Māori selected former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara as its candidate, and Labour confirmed Peeni Henare, who previously held the seat.^{10, 13 Jul 2025} In October, party leadership released documents alleging overspending by Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who denied it, and the party then moved to suspend her.^{20, 27, 28 Oct 2025} The National Iwi Chairs Forum tried to bring the two factions together, but the party's national council expelled Kapa-Kingi and fellow MP Tākuta Ferris on 9 November, and both rejected the decision.^{31 Oct 2025; 6, 10 Nov 2025} Labour leader Chris Hipkins has since signalled distance from Te Pāti Māori, while the party's president, John Tamihere, faced calls to step down.^{3, 24 Nov 2025; 1 Dec 2025}

Latest

On 5 December an interim High Court ruling reinstated Kapa-Kingi as a Te Pāti Māori member after she challenged her expulsion.^{5 Dec 2025} The 1News Verian poll has Te Pāti Māori support at 1 per cent, and a Mata-Horizon Research poll suggests nearly half of Māori voters do not trust its current leadership.^{8, 19 Dec 2025}

What's next

A full High Court hearing on Kapa-Kingi's challenge is scheduled for early February.^{5 Dec 2025}

Key moments

1. 26 Jun 2025Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp dies, triggering a by-election.
2. 10 Jul 2025Oriini Kaipara selected as Te Pāti Māori's by-election candidate.
3. 13 Jul 2025Labour confirms Peeni Henare as its Tāmaki Makaurau candidate.
4. 27 Oct 2025Te Pāti Māori moves to suspend MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.
5. 10 Nov 2025National council expels MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris.
6. 5 Dec 2025High Court reinstates Kapa-Kingi as a party member pending a full hearing.
7. 8 Dec 2025Poll shows Te Pāti Māori support has dropped to 1 per cent.
8. 19 Dec 2025Poll finds nearly half of Māori voters distrust the party's leadership.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.