Te Pāti Māori’s Kiri Tamihere, who spoke of overthrowing government, defends gang-pad hui
October 19, 2026
Summarised by Centrist
Te Pāti Māori general manager Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, who previously spoke of overthrowing the government in a video examined by Police, has dismissed criticism of MPs attending a Mongrel Mob election hui as manufactured outrage from the political right.
Yet even Labour has condemned the visit.
Tamihere-Waititi, daughter of party president John Tamihere and wife of co-leader Rawiri Waititi, accused political opponents of orchestrating a scandal over MPs posing for photographs with Mongrel Mob members at a South Auckland gang pad.
"This is normal for us, eh? It's normal for Māori to go and sit with our gang whānau," she said, adding: "We don't discriminate in that way."
She stated that gang members were part of their families, attending birthdays, Christmases and other gatherings together.
But Tamihere-Waititi did not explain why maintaining family relationships with gang members justified holding an election event at a gang headquarters, posing with patched members and publicly promoting the occasion.
Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara described the gathering as a "health and wellbeing election hui". Why the meeting needed to take place at a gang pad, rather than a community organisation or neutral venue, or how the gathering served families beyond the gang itself, remain unanswered.
In a subsequent RNZ interview, Kaipara doubled down, saying: “You see Mongrel Mob, I see whānau.” She acknowledged the gangs’ history of violence but defended engaging with members. Labour leader Chris Hipkins ruled out restoring the Mongrel Mob’s “mana” or reversing the gang patch ban, while Green co-leader Marama Davidson said Kaipara’s remarks were for Te Pāti Māori to answer.
Tamihere-Waititi's claimed that the controversy was manufactured by the right, despite criticism from Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who condemned the visit as an error of judgment. However, he limited ruling out giving the Greens or Te Pāti Māori portfolios in a future coalition government to only the police or corrections.
"Any engagement that validates the legitimacy of gangs is stuff that politicians need to be careful to avoid," he said.
Meanwhile, Green co-leader Marama Davidson said she was “proud” to advocate for “marginalised communities”. Her party has expressed openness to funding Mongrel Mob drug rehabilitation programmes.
Editor's note: Tamihere-Waititi's own political rhetoric has previously drawn Police attention.
In May 2024, journalist Chris Lynch reported that Police were assessing a video in which she declared:
"We could overthrow any government. We could do whatever the f*** we wanted.”
Lifelong Black Power member Denis O'Reilly questioned the Greens' approach during an interview with Newstalk ZB.
O'Reilly criticised the timing and optics of the visit and questioned whether gangs were appropriate organisations to deliver publicly funded drug rehabilitation. He suggested community organisations involving gang whānau, but operating independently of gangs, would be a better option.
Voters may consider that, if the objective was to support families affected by drug addiction and gang violence, why not meet those families independently of the gang?
Image: Rongo Keene
Community Discussion
Comment Policy