Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has delayed his planned resignation from Parliament, saying he wants to take the decision back to the people of his Te Tai Tokerau electorate.
Mr Harawira said at the launch of his new Mana Party on Saturday that he would resign from Parliament yesterday to force a byelection.
But yesterday he said he would now probably not decide until after he had further consulted his supporters in Northland.
"The people back home make the decision on where and when. So I will be taking it back to them to get their views."
He continued to defend his decision to force the byelection, expected to cost taxpayers more than $500,000.
Meanwhile Newstalk ZB reports that Harawira had a meeting with Speaker Lockwood Smith yesterday. We can't help but feel that the two stories are related.
You see, once Hone Harawira resigns as the independant MP for Te Tai Tokerau, the money dries up. His salary stops, as does his access to the travel and accomodation perks enjoyed by MP's. And as we noted last week, Hone is the King of the Hill when it comes to expenses! Once the parliamentary tap gets turned off, Hone is all on his own.
That, combined with the widespread condemnation that Harawira has received for suggesting a by-election so close to the General Election may be causing the firebrand MP to have second thoughts. It may also be that the Mana Party is having problems getting to the magic figure of 500 members in order to register with the Electoral Commission as a political party.
We reckon that Hone has been hoist by his own petard. Announcing a by-election is one thing, and holding a party launch with a who's who of the radical hard left is a second thing. Actually doing the hard yards WITHOUT the assistance of the Parliamentary Services chequebook is another thing altogether, and we reckon that Harawira has suddenly realised that.
We would not be at all surprised if there is an announcement in the next few days that Hone has reconsidered, and that "his people" in Te Tai Tokerau have told him that he doesn't need a fresh mandate. That will, of course, be far from the truth; the truth will be that Harawira realises that he can't fund the by-election campaign himself, nor does the Mana Party have the resources. And that means that Harawira will continue to draw his salary and expenses until November, at which time the Mana Party will fade from view, and Harawira will lose his precious seat.
One can only hope! The clock is ticking for Hone; he must make his mind up (or have it made up for him) by 26 May, or it will be too late for him. But we reckon that Hone Harawira might be looking for a Mana-enhanced way out.
8 comments:
The article also says "Labour, the Maori Party and the Greens have criticised the byelection as a waste of money and have not decided whether to stand against him. Mr Harawira said it would be "great" if they did not contest it."
Does this mean he thinks the only way he can win is if he is the only left-wing candidate?
When he announced he would force a by election he probably thought that the Maori Party would not stand a candidate, now he knows that they might, he seems to think his winning is not so likely.
Speaks volumes.
Hone, do as I say not as I do!
Since he has now decided to stay in the trough, send him a bill from Parliamentary Services for all that travel he has rorted from the taxpayer in recent months.
It is not about the money ... no, not at all.
Just remove the bloody maori seats with the increasingly purely racist connotations inherent in them and allow the thug to sink into the Awanui Swamp.
It's ACT who are troughers and undemocratic. No elected rep. All list. Leader with not one vote trying to influence government. Scum!
Anon @ 10.57
Rodney Hide is the sitting electorate MP for the seat of Epsom, you idiot.
The Financial Transaction Tax touted by the Mana Party was originally adapted by Kelvyn Alp for the party DDP in 2004 for the 2005 General Elections. (And he has proof of this) He has carried that policy into the OURNZ Party (going through formal registration).
Kelvyn approached Hone Harawira via Hone’s relations seeking to unite minor parties with similar aims. Hone asked for 1) the OURNZ Party policies (available at http://www.ournz.net/) to see if there were areas of agreement and 2) Mike Tamaki to call him. This was done and contact ceased.
His application of the Transaction Tax is inappropriate and will raise prices.
The original policy: Taxation rates are too high, meaning that companies are at a disadvantage when competing for foreign investment, business on the world stage and for real growth.
The solution is a 1% Transaction Tax on all outgoing financial transactions. The tax will replace ALL other taxes including many “hidden” taxes. Software programmed into RBNZ’s electronic clearing system will state daily transactions of the banking system, meaning implementation will be simple. Calculated on total transacted amount per annum, a tax of 1% will provide the Government with sufficient operating revenue.
Some think it would negatively affect the economy. This is a false notion and it will have a beneficial effect on the economy through being able to tax money that is now untaxed. This solution will bring prosperity, increases in employment and less dependence on the State.
Money was intended to distribute goods and services at an agreed value. Money was never meant to be a commodity. The solution is not to tax the real wealth of this country (labour, resources, business etc), but rather to tax how wealth is distributed. With no income tax, nor GST to pay, everybody will effectively have a pay rise.
So, the only Party that understands the application of the policy properly is OURNZ Party and we shall be campaigning on this and other policies this year. Join us on the OURNZ Group discussion page on Facebook!
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