Will’s Word: Fearless to fracturing, what’s going on with Te Pāti Māori?

What the hell is going on with Te Pāti Māori (TPM) at the moment? Don't get me wrong, I've genuinely admired this party's rise. Over the past few years, they've been electric, a movement that gave Māori voters, especially rangatahi, a sense of unapologetic power and a brighter future.

They've been formidable, fearless, and it might even be a stretch to suggest this, but often the moral compass for the left. But in recent weeks, something's come undone. We've heard about the whispers about internal tensions.

Then came the stories about late-night emails to members detailing major overspending issues and allegations of abusive behaviour involving one of their MPs and her son. Then suddenly, Te Pāti Māori wasn't holding the Coalition accountable - they were defending themselves against claims of utter chaos.

I want to be fair, this isn't the first time a political party's had internal drama. Every party, for the most part, faces internal drama. Labour has had its scandals, National has had its coups, but the difference here is that Te Pāti Māori built its identity on being different.

Not your typical political party, grounded in kaupapa and connected to the people. So how on earth did we get here? How did a party that arguably embodied unity at the start of this parliamentary term end up airing grievances by email in the middle of the night?

How did we go from strategic discipline to in-fighting that now threatens the wider left bloc? And you have to ask how much of this goes back to the executive. Make no mistake, TPM co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are two of the warmest, most genuine politicians you'll ever meet.

Listen to Will’s Word on Facebook below.

I've spoken to them both several times. They're charismatic and they clearly care, which is nice. That's what you want from our politicians. But it feels like the heart of the movement has been overtaken by internal politics and a dirty power struggle that's now playing out in public.

Meanwhile, the right is watching, rubbing their fingers. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called them an activist organisation. Nicola Willis says she's always known they were a mess. It is an utter tragedy what's going on.

Hopefully, they can get that waka back on course because right now it's going in a completely different direction than where it should be.

That's Will's Word.