Today on Mata, the Green Party’s Teanau Tuiono spells out how Hoki Whenua Mai would get more land back in Māori hands. Mihingarangi Forbes also speaks to panelists Professor Ella Henry and Shane Te Pou about Kiritapu Allan’s decision not to stand at the next election, and how we might support MPs struggling with their mental health.
Henry said a strategy in Parliament which allowed MPs to be given formalised support from the communities that had put them forward could help people struggling with mental health issues.
Two years ago Kiritapu Allan was given a 13 percent chance of survival after a cervical cancer diagnosis. She underwent months of treatment and returned to work.
Then recently she came under scrutiny from the opposition for alleged poor working relationships with some staff.
It came after her community was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle.
As her relationship ended with her long-term partner, Allan recognised she was struggling with her mental health.
The former justice minister resigned all her ministerial portfolios on Monday after being charged with careless driving and failing to accompany an officer following a car crash on Sunday night.
Today Allan said she would not stand at this year's election, saying she had let her electorate down, her party down and all those who relied on her.
Prof Henry said if Māori people were going to be put forward to Parliament something needed to happen at the community level in terms of whānau, hapū and iwi who should be prepared to wrap around them.
Allan obviously had a break point that she was not able to cope with, she said.
"You don't know when you go into Parliament what your breaking point will be and so there's not only infrastructure needed around when that happens from within Parliament but also you know the broader community that she works with and she's a part of."
True Māori leadership was being able to stand behind those people, "it's not who's out the front, it's who's out the back supporting the paepae", she said.
A strategy in Parliament that allowed that support to happen would not just benefit Māori, Henry said.
"There's no reason why we couldn't weave some fabric around not just Māori, but lots of other, refugees, women, different communities [for people] who get put forward by a community, who then have to stand back and leave them alone in that toxic environment that is Parliament."
Parliamentary reform may be needed to address that, she said.
Shane Te Pou, Mihingarangi Forbes and Professor Ella Henry. Photo: Shane Te Pou, Mihingarangi Forbes & Professor Ella Henry
"[It's important] to have whānau who is able to come in as well and tautoko in a formal structured way, I think protects that person who is on the threshold of catastrophe."
Prof Henry said she was pleasantly surprised by the empathy shown to Kiri Allan that came from across the political spectrum.
Commentator Shane Te Pou said he was sad for Allan, her whānau and her local supporters.
"She's a good soul, but unfortunately we do make choices, whether it's under mental stress or whatever and there was no coming back for Kiri, for Kiritapu, that's the reality after Sunday and probably a wise decision in terms of starting her life afresh, not standing for re-election."
Her seat was traditionally held by National anyway, so winning it back would have been very tough, he said.
Te Pou said he hoped she would be able to draw a line and move forward with her life.
Time to kōrero about treatment of Māori women - Te Pou
"Maybe not today but I think we have to have a kōrero about the brutality of Parliament, particularly in terms of how Māori women are treated, or mistreated and this goes way back. You know I can remember some of the crap that [Whetū] Tirikātene-Sullivan had to put up with.
"We fast forward to 2023 and you know I've never seen any of the vileness and ugliness that Nanaia Mahuta had to put up with, so you know there's a big important kōrero to be had here."
Te Pou said it was important not to use situations such as this for political point scoring and National Party leader Christopher Luxon had failed in that regard.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, by contrast, had shown empathy and a sense of loss for one of his talented ministers that everyone had a lot of hope for, he said.
"I think he played it the only way he could with the cards that were dealt to him."
The Green Party's Teanau Tuiono said he joined with all Kiritapu Allan's friends and whānau in wishing her all the best for her in her journey.
"I'm sad, Kiritapu is a friend of mine and I want what's best for her, I want what's best for her whānau and just understanding the immense stress and pressure she's been under as well."
