Te Pāti Māori kick out ‘rogue’ MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris

Monday, 10 November 2025

The Te Pāti Māori national executive has expelled Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris from the party.

The move comes after months of chaos, and open in-fighting, following its win in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer held a press conference on Monday morning to announce the two MPs would be ousted from the party, having previously described the two as going “rogue”.

The expulsion, for breaching the party’s kawa, or constitution, would take effect from Monday. The party’s national council was yet to decide whether to try to expel the MPs from Parliament, through the so-called waka jumping law.

The ousting of Kapa-Kingi, MP for Te Tai Tokerau, and Ferris, MP for Te Tai Tonga, reduces the Te Pāti Māori caucus from six to four MPs.

“This decision was not taken lightly. Many hoped the end would be reconciliation, it could not be achieved,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

“This internal matter should never have played out in public.”

Ngarewa-Packer said party president John Tamihere, who last week urged the two MPs to split from the party, was not at the national executive meeting in which the pair were expelled. MPs do not themselves vote in the national council process.

Waititi said the party’s reset to “stabilise this waka” was continuing.

“We had to bring it to a close, and we have to just move on and make sure that we continue to ensure that this is a one term Government.”

Kapa-Kingi, in a statement posted to Instagram, said her electorate committee was excluded from the meeting at which she was expelled.

“This decision is unconstitutional and has no effect on my position as a member of parliament. I intend to challenge and appeal that decision in all respects.”

She would remain the MP for her electorate in the meantime, Kapa-King said.

Ferris, in a statement, said he rejected the decision “in the strongest possible terms”.

“I am resolute that all my actions have stayed true to that responsibility, and by the aspirations I hold for my tamariki.

“This decision is plainly unconstitutional, contrary to tikanga Māori and a direct affront to the values this movement was founded upon - manaakitanga, pono, aroha and kotahitanga.”

He said the motion to expel the MPs was passed with the support of the executives of the following Māori electorate committees: Tāmaki Makaurau, Waiariki, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and Te Tai Hauāuru.

His own electorate organisation, Te Tai Tonga, abstained, as did Hauraki-Waikato. Te Tai Tokerau was excluded.

Waititi said Te Tai Tokerau had stopped engaging in the process earlier on.

The public side of the dispute began with comments made by MP Tākuta Ferris in August but has spiralled considerably since then, with the co-leaders openly calling for Ferris and fellow MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi to leave the party earlier this week.

Ructions, ‘reset’, rupture

Ferris had publicly criticised non-Māori Labour supporters campaigning for candidate Peeni Henare to win the Māori electorate seat, and then doubling down on the criticism after the party co-leaders apologised to Labour.

Kapa-Kingi was then demoted from party whip, which Tamihere on Monday said was due to iwi leaders wanting to see her in the electorate more.

Her son, Eru, a former party vice-president who leads the Toitū Te Tiriti protest movement, then publicly declared the movement’s split from Te Pāti Māori, calling its leadership a “dictatorship”.

After the reset, four weeks ago, the party sent out an unsigned email to members alleging that Kapa-Kingi was overspending her parliamentary budget by $133,000 and that Eru Kapa-Kingi had been barred from Parliament after an incident with security staff.

Ferris said there “wasn’t a consensus” about issuing this explosive email.

Last week, Ferris’ Te Tai Tonga electorate executive publicised a petition that called for Tamihere to “stand down immediately”.

Tamihere then publicly urged Kapa-Kingi and Ferris to “do the honourable thing” and split from the party, levelling further accusations against the pair, including that Kapa-Kingi had been exploring a possible leadership bid.