Harawira’s status
May 13th, 2011 at 9:00 am by David FarrarKate Chapman at Stuff reports:
Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira may have to return to Parliament as an independent if he wins the by-election in his electorate, because his new Mana Party has only just applied to be registered.
He announced his resignation on Wednesday, to be effective from May 20, and is walking a fine line to get his party registered in time to qualify for extra parliamentary funding and to be recognised as a party leader in the House. Registration takes six to eight weeks and Mana lodged its application at 5pm yesterday. The by-election is set for June 25.
The more important date is actually Tues 31 May, when nominations close.
However things could get murky. If the Mana Party is not registered by 31 May, he can not be a candidate for it. But he arguably could still list Mana Party on the ballot paper as an unregisterd party or affiliations, just like a candidate can label themselves “Communist League” even though that is not a registered party.
Now if Harawira is allowed to list Mana Party on the ballot paper as an unregistered affiliation, then I doubt that will qualify as being elected as an MP for that party – even if the Mana Party does get registered between 31 May and 25 June.
Tags: by-elections, Hone Harawira, Mana Party, Te Tai Tokerau
May 13th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Awww poor John.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:11 am
so if they arent registered in time, thats means no MANA funding come election time? Just some for john?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Its clearly all the rednecks in the electorial office dime.
There’s rednecks under the bed!
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Tariana Turia was nominated as a Maori Party candidate in the 2004 Te Tai Hauaruru by-election.
The Maori Party did not have its registration approved until the day before polling day, well after nomination day. Nonetheless, the Maori Party received Parliamentary funding.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:17 am
dime – the only public money allowed to be used for election advertisements during the election period is the broadcasting allocation. The Mana Party did not apply for a broadcasting allocation, so it won’t get any of that.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:17 am
What a clusterfuck. Kiss my lilly white arse Hone, you dumb racist prick. Kudos also to political “genius” Matt McCarten.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Does his resignation on 20 May also mean from that date that his Parliamentary and Electorate offices are shut down and his staff laid off?
And what MP “baubles” must he return? Are MP’s supplied with stuff to use at home like vehicles, computers, phones, Sky TV ? Does he have surrender all this from May 20?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am
DPF
THE MOST IMPORTANT DATE IS 25 JUNE 2011 BY ELECTION DATE
Hone is standing on a Mana Platform for the by election.
The most important thing for Mana and Hone is to get a mandate for the upcoming general elections by winning the by election.
Does this narrative you suggest that Don Brash does not have the right to call himself the leader of Act when he has not been put before the electorate?
The mandate is far more important for Mana and Hone than any money form being a parliamentary party at the moment.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:21 am
White mans rules and regulations regarding elections are just another form of colonialist repression.
He will not take it any longer.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Does his resignation on 20 May also mean from that date that his Parliamentary and Electorate offices are shut down and his staff laid off?
And what MP “baubles” must he return? Are MP’s supplied with stuff to use at home like computers, phones, Sky TV ? Does he have surrender all this from May 20?
Yes and no.
He stops getting his salary, and any Wellington accommodation allowance from after the 20th.
We’ll pay to fly him home after his last day in Parliament, and one more return flight to clear out his office.
The Parliamentary Service will likely keep his electorate offices open, but he won’t be able to use them except to tidy up and leave. The free phone line we supply will continue for a month after the resignation. Taxis and the mileage allowance will cease, although I anticipate he’ll be able to use a couple in relation to his return flight to tidy up etc.
I wrote an extensive post covering all these matters in the hours after Hone announced he intended to resign to cause a by-election.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Graeme – cheers!
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:30 am
Clusterfuck and the “Mana” party. i’m sure it wont be the last time we see those two words in the same comment.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Graeme – I’ve read that part of the party registering process involves seeking public submissions on acceptability of party name. Does this provide an opportunity for delaying tactics from “the public”? Are there any other ways the party registration could be delayed?
What happens if the name is deemed unacceptable? Especially if he is on the ballot under that party name.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Thanks Graeme @ 9:26am for such a useful reply. Very informative.
Who remembers Alamein Kopu? She was the barely literate Alliance List MP that became an Independent and kept Jenny Shipley in power. I think before Parliament she had been unemployed for 20 years.
At the following General Election when she was not re-elected, a considerable amount of her Parliamentary Services supplied office furniture disappeared – never to be found to this very day.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:50 am
One of the mysteries in the exciting race is:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10725219
Chief electoral officer Robert Peden said today that the commission would be working in the community to ensure Te Tai Tokerau voters knew the major differences between the by-election and the November 26 general election, which comes five months later.
“In the by-election Te Tai Tokerau people only have one vote — for their electorate MP. There is no party vote,” he said.
This will be interesting. Precisely how much taxpayer money will be required do we think, to tell people that? Coupla mil?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 9:59 am
I heard Hone on the radio this morning saying that he was going on the dole.
Can he actually do this ? – AFAIK there is a 16 week stand down if you voluntarily leave your job.
Even if there is no stand down what does it say about this man’s overblown sense of entitlement that he immediately wants to go onto the dole after 5 years earning around $650k as a backbencher – has he no savings he can fall back on ?
If he is so certain he’s going to win maybe he could support himself until November when his $150K salary plus expenses will resume ? Or is that being on the dole will give him street cred with the bros ?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:01 am
I strongly suspect that John Key will expect the relevant agencies to fall over backwards to help smooth the way for Hone and Mana Party on this one. John Key would not want any perception that he is trying to make things difficult for Hone on this one. If Hone gets in as party leader of Mana, the taxpayer and Grant Robertson will be the losers, because Grant’s current front row seat is the obvious one for Hone to have.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:02 am
***I heard Hone on the radio this morning saying that he was going on the dole.***
Those white mofos do come in handy sometimes.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Precisely how much taxpayer money will be required do we think, to tell people that? Coupla mil?
You’re dreamin’. Won’t be anywhere near that much. The entire public advertising budget for the MMP referendum, to cover the whole country, is $5.3m. I think you are grossly overestimating the cost of airtime on iwi radio stations. I’d be surprised if it was more than $100k, and probably even less than that.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Here is Joke that I found on the net.. or is it the real future
John Key goes to a science exhibition and is shown a time machine which can see a 100 years into the future. The man in charge invites him to ask any question he likes.
John Key asks “How will Australia be in a 100 years?”. The machine wh…irrs and pops out a printout, which the man reads.
“The country is in good hands under the new P.M, crime is non existent, there is no conflict, the economy is healthy, there are no worries”.
He has another go “How will China be in a 100 years?”.
Another printout, “The country will be the worlds leading economy, and everyone there will enjoy the highest standards of living in the world”.
John Key then asks, “What will N.Z be like in a 100years?”
Vote:The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action. The man gets a printout, but just stares at it.
“Come on” says John Key “What does it say?”
The man replies, “I don’t know! It’s all in Maori!”
May 13th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Graeme – I’ve read that part of the party registering process involves seeking public submissions on acceptability of party name. Does this provide an opportunity for delaying tactics from “the public”?
I imagine that’s largely built into the process. A number of different things happen at once when a party seeks registration: the checking process in relation to the 500 members occurs, and the public is notified about the name and logo and invited to comment, the proposed party auditor is checked with the register of accountants (or whatever it’s called), etc.. It can take six weeks or more, but all these things are happening concurrently. The name doesn’t usually take very long, but as part of the process, the Commission meets to consider the name. That part of the meeting will usually be pretty quick. If objections have been received, it may take a little longer, but except in really complicated cases, it will still be determined at that meeting, just in minutes, or hours, rather than seconds.
The only surefire way to stop the party registering, is for the PM to call a snap election
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Hone the racist is being entirely consistent with his view of the world if he goes on the dole. As far as he and his supporters – and for that matter the Maori Party – are concerned, we are all, at best, “tauiwi” in this land, and any money that can be extracted from the pakeha establishment is merely part payment of overdue compensation for past real and imagined wrongs.
Make no mistake – Hone is the OPENLY racist politician – the others are simply less honest. Hearing the translations of speeches made in parliament in te reo is very revealing. Simultaneous translation allows the MP members to say things in Maori they wouldnt say in English…and the MSM is too lazy or biased to report it.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:35 am
Brewery/piss up, probably stuff that up too.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Like the Democrats voting in Illinois, I expect Hone to play the race card through this whole process early and often.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:04 am
While not relevant to the by-election , how can a party name itself after an existing electorate. In the general election where the party vote is the most relevant The Mana Electorate will offer a choice of the Mana Party. The electorate is peopled by numerous Nationalities and immigrants who already have difficulty understanding the voting process, and may think that ticking the box endorses their electorate rather than the obscure racist party.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Looking forward to the birth of the right-wing, curiously named “Yo South Auckland, Big It Up, Tick The Box, Bro!” Party
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:30 am
@ Peter – what about the “Vote for us and get a Double Down Party”? I hear that Mike Williams will be the founding president
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Or more seriously (and I know this is not original) can you imagine the outcry if someone formed the “European Prestige and Values” party?
From my limited knowledge of te reo that’s a pretty fair translation of “mana”…
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Can someone who is really familiar with the Electoral Act answer the following question?
Suppose that Hone does not win and that Kelvin Davis wins it for Labour.
Since he is now an electorate MP I presume that he will then resign from his List seat.
Does Labour then get a new List MP to take his place?
As far as I can understand it they do but I am not a lawyer.
Can anyone advise me on this?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Alwyn: Graeme Edgeler will no doubt give the definitive answer, but as I understand it the answer is YES…they would get an extra list MP to replace Kelvin.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 11:50 am
alwyn – that is the general understanding.
If a list MP wins a by-election, it is expected that they would resign as a member of Parliament before the return of the writ. This would create a vacancy in a list seat. The MP would then become an MP again after the results were officially announced.
If they don’t resign as an MP, no list vacancy arises, and the size of the House reduces by one. They’d only get one salary, and the party would have one less vote in the House, etc.
If they do resign, Parliament has the option, if the resignation is within six months of a general election, of resolving with a 75% majority not to fill the list vacancy.
If Parliament doesn’t, then the next person on the list would be offered the spot if they are still a member of the Labour Party. This person is currently Judith Tizard. It does not matter that she has already turned down the option of taking up a list seat.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Graeme. Thank you.
Vote:I am only glad I don’t get an itemised account for your advice.
May 13th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Alwyn: Have you heard the one about the man who calls his lawyer and asks how much it costs for three questions?
The conversation goes like this:
Man: How much to ask three questions?
Lawyer: $300
Man: jeez, that’s a bit expensive isnt it?
Lawyer: Yes. What is your third question?
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
I say listen up y’all.
Vote:I just gots ta drinks me a six pack and gets in ma pick up and gets on down to county hall to register tha ‘Redneck Party’
That should get us at least 80% of the vote ats tha ganeral alection
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW
May 13th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
@David Garrett
we are all, at best, “tauiwi” in this land, and any money that can be extracted from the pakeha establishment
1) It’s silly to assume everyone reading your post is a Pakeha like you.
2) Maori taxpayers also contribute to WINZ funding, which is overseen by a minister of Maori origin.
Knock off the Us vs Them rhetoric, okay? You sound as bad as Hone.
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
ephemera – well said.
Vote:As a 4th generation New Zealand caucasian, I have, (as I would guess does most in my position,) have close relatives with Maori ancestry.
I do wish people of all ethnicities would get over this “them and us” viewpoint.
May 13th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
David- I’ve always thought Sharples and Turia are almost as ‘extreme’ in their divisive ideals…It’s just they are well spoken and comparitively ‘subtle’ with their racism….
Vote:May 13th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I do wish people of all ethnicities would get over this “them and us” viewpoint.
Yep. Same for politicalities.
Most of us are a mix of ethnicities, often a wide mix, and just about any family group will have diverse connections.
Vote:From reasonably close in my family I can think of Maori, English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Australian, German and Italian. I even have some North Island relatives.
May 14th, 2011 at 3:01 am
The biggest humi…humili…shame would be if Hone lost in his OWN electorate.
Is there a God we ask.
Vote: