Face of the Day

“The silence is deafening.”

That’s the word from newly reinstated Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi who said she was yet to speak with her party’s leadership team following months of internal ructions and a bitter High Court battle.

In a wide-ranging interview with Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes, Kapa-Kingi said since returning to parliament, all the she had received from party co-leader Rāwiri Waititi was a text message asking if she would be available for a short, 10-minute kōrero, and had not spoken to the party’s president John Tamihere since November 2025.

“Rāwiri messaged and asked if I was available at a particular time... we haven’t managed to pull that off.” she said.

“My view is it requires more than 10 minutes, tāku nei whakaaro. Nothing [has been] offered up, no real significant or important conversation set aside yet.”

RNZ