A petition that appears to have been created by members of Te Pāti Māori’s South Island electorate, Te Tai Tonga, is calling for the “immediate resignation” of party president John Tamihere.

It follows Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris speaking out against his own party last week, criticising the decision to suspend fellow MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and claiming Te Pāti Māori’s executive is not upholding the party’s values.

The petition was seemingly created late last week and lists “Te Tai Tonga Electorate Executive” as its author.

“We, the undersigned, guided by tikanga Māori and bound by our collective commitment to integrity, accountability, and truth, hereby call for the immediate resignation of the Te Pāti Māori President,” it read.

“Leadership within Te Ao Māori is a sacred responsibility, one that must be exercised with tika, pono, and aroha [justice, truth and care].

“When that trust is diminished, it is the duty of the collective to restore balance and uphold the mana of the kaupapa.”

It claimed Tamihere had “not acted in good faith or in the spirit of aroha, pono and tika in the execution of their duties and responsibilities” as president.

“We call for the President to vacate the position without delay, so that the mana of Te Pāti Māori may be restored, and the voice of our people remain steadfast, united, and grounded in truth.”

The petition had received 50 signatures by 10am today.

Tamihere and Ferris have been approached for comment.

Ferris last week told TVNZ he disagreed with the suspension of Te Tai Tokerau MP Kapa-Kingi, who has been at the centre of ongoing ructions within the party for weeks.

Ferris claimed members of the executive had drifted from the party’s values and called for more transparency in addressing current issues.

Last month, Te Tai Tonga abstained on the motion proposed at a meeting of Te Pāti Māori’s national executive on whether to suspend Kapa-Kingi for allegedly breaching the party’s constitution.

The motion was supported by five other electorates. A vote for Te Tai Tokerau was not recorded in minutes seen by the Herald.

It appears Kapa-Kingi’s suspension was prompted by her continued public comments regarding the rifts growing within the party, first revealed when her son and former vice-president Eru Kapa-Kingi accused Tamihere and the party’s co-leaders of a dictatorial leadership style.

That led to the party releasing allegations that Eru Kapa-Kingi assaulted Parliament security staff last year and of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi overspending her Parliamentary budget.

Eru Kapa-Kingi has since admitted to a heated exchange with security but denied any assault took place. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has claimed her spending was initially approved by the party in the wake of the death of Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp.

Suspending Kapa-Kingi doesn’t mean she is no longer part of Te Pāti Māori, nor does it threaten her position as Te Tai Tokerau MP. It would likely mean her participation in party decisions and access to resources would be limited.

Eru Kapa-Kingi last week said on social media he had engaged legal counsel over the matter.

Tamihere, and co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, have not readily responded to questions regarding Kapa-Kingi and the party’s rifts.

However, Waititi last week told Te Karere that Te Pāti Māori was still going through its “reset”, which was announced last month and promised more transparent communication with the public.

The National Iwi Chairs Forum last week called for a meeting with Te Pāti Māori to “help resolve internal challenges on a tikanga basis”.

“The National Iwi Chairs Forum considers it necessary to focus political attention on the aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi as opposed to other political issues that in our view distract from that purpose.”

Tamihere, asked if he would meet with the forum, told the Herald: “We meet with all Māori that desire to hui.”

He wouldn’t confirm whether the request had been accepted or if a location and date had been agreed upon.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.