By Colin Ambler\/cvnznews.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa\u2011Kingi has confirmed she is leaving Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori and will contest the November election under a new political banner, the Te Tai Tokerau Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement marks the latest development in what has been a turbulent year for the Northland MP. According to reporting from the NZ Herald, Kapa\u2011Kingi was expelled from Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori last year alongside Te Tai Tonga MP T\u0101kuta Ferris. She later challenged the expulsion in court and was reinstated after a judge ruled in her favour. Her decision to now depart the party formally brings that chapter to a close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a video posted to social media, Kapa\u2011Kingi said the new party would be \u201ca refreshed expression of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga\u201d, describing it as a platform for the \u201cneeds and aspirations of our wh\u0101nau\u201d. She urged supporters to sign up as financial members \u2014 political parties require at least 500 financial members to register for the election \u2014 and called for volunteers to help build the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori responded with a brief statement, saying it respected the right of wh\u0101nau, hap\u016b, iwi and candidates to determine their own political pathway. \u201cWe wish Mariameno well,\u201d the party said, adding that it would confirm its Te Tai Tokerau candidate in due course. The party has already named five candidates for the 2026 election and says it intends to contest all seven M\u0101ori electorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori also referenced its broader goals, saying its movement was \u201cbigger than any one seat, candidate or moment\u201d, and reaffirmed its intention to campaign on issues such as housing, health, and wh\u0101nau wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kapa\u2011Kingi\u2019s new party enters a competitive field in Te Tai Tokerau, where she currently holds the seat as an independent. T\u0101kuta Ferris, who was expelled alongside her, continues to hold Te Tai Tonga as an independent MP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further details about the Te Tai Tokerau Party\u2019s policies and candidate lineup are expected to be released in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Colin Ambler\/cvnznews.com Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa\u2011Kingi has confirmed she is leaving Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori and will contest the November election under a new political banner, the Te Tai Tokerau Party. The announcement marks the latest development in what has been a turbulent year for the Northland MP. According to reporting from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[304,1055,113,257],"coauthors":[446],"class_list":{"0":"post-12901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-election26","9":"tag-maori-2","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-politics"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TE-Pati.avif","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12901"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12917,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12901\/revisions\/12917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12901"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=12901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}