Sunday March 24, 2012
 
Q+A: Jessica Mutch interviews Te Ururoa Flavell
 
Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell says it’s time for the party to look at succession planning if it wants to stay within the political spectrum of New Zealand and attract younger people.
 
Speaking on Q+A, Flavell told deputy political editor Jessica Mutch that supporters needed to put aside a fondness for the current leadership in the party and think about where the party sees itself in the future.
 
“What I’m saying to you is there will come at time when the Māori Party will make a decision around the leadership that they want to take us into the future, and I’m hoping that it’s going to be a younger face. I’m hoping it’s going to be a gender-based— open up the whole notion of gender to bring in younger people, because there's a huge pool of talent out there that needs to be engaged in politics for the future of the Māori Party, and indeed for the future of Māori people in this country.”
 
Flavell has put his name forward to be considered for a co-leadership role in the party.
 
Current female co-leader Tariana Turia is stepping down at the end of this term in 2014 and has encouraged male co-leader Dr Pita Sharples to do the same. He has refused, saying he will die in the role. The current Maori Party constitution says that there must be both a male and female co-leader – not two leaders of one gender. The Maori Party National Council electorates decide who the co-leaders will be and the leadership issue has been referred for consideration.
 
Flavell also commented on the appointment of Dame Susan Devoy as Race Relations Commissioner, saying some of her past comments about race relations made her appointment questionable.
 
“I think we call into question some of the statements that she's made in the recent past, with respect to her view about race relations and indeed specific people in this country. We just raise the question about the suitability of her as being a candidate.”
 
However, Flavell says now that she has been appointed: “Let’s get on and give her support for that job to be done, and we wish her well in her appointment.”
 
Q+A, 9-10am Sundays on TV ONE and one hour later on TV ONE plus 1. Repeated Sunday evening at 11:30pm. Streamed live at www.tvnz.co.nz.   
 
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  Q + A – March 24, 2013
 
TE URUROA FLAVELL
Māori Party MP
 
Interviewed by JESSICA MUTCH
 
JESSICA                      Te Ururoa Flavell, thank you very much for joining me this morning.
 
TE URUROA               Kia ora, Jess.
 
JESSICA                      I want to start off by asking you – there's no position, there's no vacancy. Why are you pushing for this job?
 
TE URUROA               Well, the long and the short of it is that over the last period of time, certainly since the last election and the election before that, I put fairly and squarely on the table the question to the National Council and to the executive of the Māori Party that we need to consider a long-term succession planning.
 
JESSICA                      Does that involve you in the leadership role?
 
TE URUROA               Well, it implies that… I certainly put my name forward to be considered for a leadership role in the party. But more importantly, thinking about the bigger picture – picking up younger candidates and preparing for the next election. The view is, that I hold very clearly, we need to make sure that the Māori Party stays within the political spectrum of this country forever. Therefore, we need to plan accordingly, and that is bring a younger generation through, bring new people through on to our list such that we can present ourselves to the nation as being that vibrant, cohesive party that’s needed.
 
JESSICA                      So you think you’re the person to do that? You want to be the leader by the next election, by 2014?
 
TE URUROA               Well, I’ve offered myself to take up that role. That’s right.
 
JESSICA                      Is that very respectful, given that Dr Sharples has made it pretty clear that he wants to stay in the job? In fact, I’ll quote you: “The bottom line is I’m prepared to lead us until I’m dead.”
 
TE URUROA               Well, that’s fine. At the end of the day, however, decisions with respect to leadership are made by the National Council – not by me, and not by Tariana and not by Pita. And therefore the issue is alive and well. Certainly after last weekend’s meeting, we had an open discussion, and I suppose it’s been portrayed as three leaders up. Well, actually, we’ve always been leading that way for a long period of time since we’ve been in Parliament; certainly in the last year or so since we’ve been a team of three. That paper offered just a suggestion, so it’s not as if it’s guaranteed. It’s been put back to the electorate so the Electorate Council can consider, and it will be considered amongst all sorts of other options that we have in front of us.
 
JESSICA                      At the moment, though, there's one male leader and one female co-leader. How are you going to work it out? Tariana Turia said she's already going to go. Pita Sharples has already indicated pretty strongly that he wants to stay. Where do you fit into all of this?
 
TE URUROA               Well, that’s the issue that’s at debate at the moment. That’s why the paper that was offered by Whatarangi Winiata, one of the founders of the Māori Party, was so important, because it didn’t just focus on that issue. It focused on election strategy. It focused on the campaign coming up.
 
JESSICA                      But just talking on the leadership, though – why are you better than Dr Sharples?
 
TE URUROA               Well, we’re all leaders. Let’s be clear. All of us have—
 
JESSICA                      But you clearly think that, though.
 
TE URUROA               All of us have dynamic backgrounds, come from diverse backgrounds, but nevertheless have all led in one form or another…in our careers. I put my name up, along with Pita Sharples, to lead the party. At the end of the day, it will be for the party membership— well, more to the point, the electorates of the National Council to consider that tono. If it’s appropriate, they’ll give it to the person that they believe is appropriate, and I’ll stand my credentials next to his. If I lose, so be it.
 
JESSICA                      Are you better placed to lead than Dr Sharples?
 
TE URUROA               Well, I can't say that, because he’s been leading the party ever since we started, and I’ve had a huge respect for Pita and Tariana because of that. We’ve sat together for the last nine years or so – the development of the party. But it is a time that I think we need to look at the succession.  They are not going to be with us for all of the time, nor will I. And the view is that if people would ask us, “Are you going to step down?”— Or “Do you want us to step down?”, more to the point, they’d say, “No, we want you to stay on.” Of course they’d say that, because there's an element of fondness about us. They believe that we do the work. But a time will come that we need to look at succeeding past Tariana Turia, past Pita Sharples and indeed past Te Ururoa Flavell, and that’s the key here.
 
JESSICA                      Do you think, then, if you're saying looking to the future of the Māori Party, do you think Dr Sharples needs to go?
 
TE URUROA               Well, I think serious consideration needs to be given to the whole issue of succession planning.
 
JESSICA                      So do you think he needs to go?
 
TE URUROA               I think we need to give consideration to that.
 
JESSICA                      So you’re saying that he should step down, like Tariana Turia is suggesting.
 
TE URUROA               I’m suggesting that we all need to consider the issue of succession planning into the future. The leadership should not sit with one person. It doesn’t sit with me. It sits with the whole party, and therefore it’s their decision to make when the time is right.
 
JESSICA                      It sounds pretty much like you're saying that he should go.
 
TE URUROA               What I’m saying to you is there will come at time when the Māori Party will make a decision around the leadership that they want to take us into the future, and I’m hoping that it’s going to be a younger face. I’m hoping it’s going to be a gender-based— open up the whole notion of gender to bring in younger people, because there's a huge pool of talent out there that needs to be engaged in politics for the future of the Māori Party, and indeed for the future of Māori people in this country.
 
JESSICA                      Is the Māori Party dead without new blood?
 
TE URUROA               I don’t think so. I think there's a strong belief in the founding principles of the party, and that’s why so many people still stay with us through thick and thin. Sure, we have ups and downs, just like any other political party. But the strong base that we have back in the community, back in our electorates – and I can speak for myself – is very rock solid. What we need to do, however, is build on that and don’t just rest on our laurels. We need to think about the future and not just think that everything’s nice and rosy, simply because we happen to be in government. There's so much to do.
 
JESSICA                      Just a final question on Dame Susan Devoy. What do you make of her becoming the Race Relations Commissioner?
 
TE URUROA               Well, I think we call into question some of the statements that she's made in the recent past, with respect to her view about race relations and indeed specific people in this country. We just raise the question about the suitability of her as being a candidate. The minister believed that she's the right candidate. End of story. Let’s get on and give her support for that job to be done, and we wish her well in her appointment.
 
JESSICA                      That’s great. Well, thank you very much for your time this morning, Te Ururoa Flavell.
 
TE URUROA               Thank you very much.

ENDS

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