Mana nominee goes independent | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Jenny Waitai-Rapana says she was the only nomination for the Mana Movement for Te Tai Hauauru at the close of nominations in August, but now she has turned her back on the party and is striking out alone.

Mrs Waitai-Rapana will stand as an independent in the November 26 election because there may not have been enough time left when she registered her new party, Nga Iwi Morehu.

Mrs Waitai-Rapana says she already has a membership of 300 and is confident of getting the 500 required to officially form a political party. Mrs Waitai-Rapana, the great-granddaughter of Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, said the goal posts kept shifting in her time with Mana, but at first she put that down to teething problems.

Things came to a head after the Te Tai Hauauru annual meeting in Taihape on September 6, when the Whanganui branch received a complaint laid by three other branches who were at the hui, delivered through Mana representative Tai Pene on behalf of the Mana leader Hone Harawira.

Mr Harawira said the Taihape hui and two others held in Marton and Wanganui were invalid.

Mrs Waitai-Rapana said their membership was angry that the process had been halted, but also that there was no opportunity to respond to the complaints.

"They stood on my mana, and this is where my fire burned out."

Mrs Waitai-Rapana said Mr Harawira has refused to talk to her, and so she has walked away.

The Chronicle spoke to Mr Pene, who said he no longer held the Mana representative position.

Mr Pene said some of the other Te Tai Hauauru branches that attended the meeting at Taihape complained that a busload of supporters from the Whanganui branch turned up at the hui, and there were complaints to head office that it looked like they were outnumbered.

Mr Pene said although Mrs Waitai-Rapana was the only Mana nomination at the time, the national executive wanted to extend the time and open up the process for more nominations.