US embassy cable - 04WELLINGTON601

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000601 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, NZ 
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND'S NEWLY FORMED MAORI PARTY TAKES FIRST 
SEAT IN PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: A. WELLINGTON 423 
 
     B. WELLINGTON 373 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC COUNSELOR, 
TIMOTHY ZUNIGA-BROWN, FOR REASONS 1.5(B,D) 
 
1. (SBU) Maori activist Tariana Turia used her decisive win 
in a July 10 by-election to launch the Maori Party, with 
herself as its first MP.  Turia easily regained her seat in 
Parliament after resigning her Labour Party Government seat 
in May protest over the government's stance on Maori claims 
to NZ's foreshore and seabed.  Turia and Maori Party 
co-leader Pita Sharples pledged to challenge the current 
Labour Party incumbents in the seven Parliamentary seats 
reserved for Maori, but it is yet unclear whether they will 
run candidates for non-reserved Parliamentary seats in the 
2005 general election. 
 
2. (U) Prime Minister Helen Clark said her Labour Party would 
not court Maori Party support, despite Labour's razor-thin, 
single-vote majority in Parliament.  Labour has already 
indicated that they challenge Turia again in the 2005 
election and expect to regain the seat.  Clark also moved to 
secure the support of the remaining Maori MPs by dividing 
Turia's former portfolios among them. 
 
3. (U) Turnout for the by-election was low, with over 8,500 
votes cast of an eligible 26,000 voters.  (Note: Turia was 
elected a Labour MP with 10,002 votes in 2003.) Members of 
the Maori Party blamed voter apathy for the low turnout, with 
volunteers reporting that over 30 percent of all eligible 
voters contacted were unaware the by-election was occurring. 
Party organizers also pointed to the quarter of eligible 
Maori whose electoral roll information was incorrect. 
 
4. (C) Comment: Maori political movements in the past have 
found it difficult to form a coherent policy based solely on 
race and have often been hi-jacked by extremist elements. 
With a majority of Maori tribal leaders either advocating a 
politically neutral stance or backing Labour, it is unlikely 
that Turia's personal mandate will automatically translate 
into sustained Maori support for a new party. 
Swindells