Mana Māori Motuhake was a Māori political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The name is difficult to translate accurately, but essentially refers to Māori self-rule and self-determination — mana, in this context, can be understood as "authority" or "power", while motuhake can be understood as "independent" or "separate".

Mana Motuhake was formed in 1979 by Matiu Rata

Matiu Rata

Matiu Rata was a New Zealand Māori politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Northern Maori from 1963 to 1979, the Minister of Lands and Minister of Māori Affairs in the Third Labour Government of New Zealand between 1972 and 1975...

, a member of the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

. Rata had served as Minister of Māori Affairs

Minister of Maori Affairs

The Minister of Māori Affairs is the minister of the New Zealand government with broad responsibility for government policy towards Māori, the first inhabitants of New Zealand. The current Minister of Māori Affairs is Dr. Pita Sharples.-Role:...

 in the third Labour government (1972–1975), but grew increasingly dissatisfied with the party's policy. Eventually deciding that Māori needed an independent voice, he quit the Labour Party in 1979. Shortly afterwards, he founded Mana Motuhake, and resigned from Parliament to contest a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 under its banner. In the Northern Maori by-election of 1980, however, Rata was narrowly defeated by the new Labour candidate, Bruce Gregory

Bruce Gregory

Bruce Craig Gregory was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.Gregory won the , which was caused by the resignation of the previous incumbent, Matiu Rata and held the seat until 1993, when Tau Henare won the seat for New Zealand First.-References:New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984...

.

Mana Motuhake stood candidates in the 1981 elections

New Zealand general election, 1981

The 1981 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, although the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, actually won the largest share of...

, 1984 elections

New Zealand general election, 1984

The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...

, 1987 elections

New Zealand general election, 1987

The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains...

, and 1990 elections

New Zealand general election, 1990

The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...

, but was unsuccessful on each occasion. In 1991, the party agreed to join forces with three other political parties (NewLabour Party

NewLabour Party (New Zealand)

NewLabour was a left-of-centre party founded in 1989 by Jim Anderton, an MP and former President of the New Zealand Labour Party.NewLabour was established by a number of Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to "Rogernomics", the economic policies implemented by the Labour Party's...

, the Green Party

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...

, and the Democratic Party

New Zealand Democratic Party

The New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit is a small leftist political party in New Zealand. It is based around the ideas of Social Credit, an economic theory which also attracted some degree of support in Canada and Australia...

) to form a single group, known as the Alliance

Alliance (New Zealand political party)

The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...

. This decision was controversial, as a number of prominent figures in Mana Motuhake believed that by joining the party with non-Māori parties, even sympathetic ones, the party would no longer be free to speak up for Maori. Those who supported the continuation of an independent Māori party founded the new Mana Māori

Mana Maori Movement

The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a prominent Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Mana Motuhake joined the Alliance...

 party, led by Eva Rickard

Eva Rickard

Eva Rickard rose to prominence as an activist for Māori land rights activist and for women’s rights within Māoridom. Her methods included public civil disobedience and she is best known for leading the occupation of Raglan golf course in the 1970s.-Biography:Eva Rickard was most notably regarded...

.

In the 1993 elections

New Zealand general election, 1993

The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...

, a Mana Motuhake candidate, Sandra Lee-Vercoe

Sandra Lee-Vercoe

Sandra Rose Te Hakamatua Lee-Vercoe QSO is a former New Zealand politician and diplomat. She served as deputy leader of the Alliance party, and was later High Commissioner to Niue.-Early life:...

, was elected to Parliament under the Alliance banner. When Rata retired the following year, Lee-Vercoe became Mana Motuhake's political leader. With the introduction of the MMP electoral system in the 1996 elections

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

, Lee-Vercoe was joined in Parliament by Alamein Kopu

Alamein Kopu

- Birth and early life :Kopu was raised in Opotiki. Her family was not wealthy, and Kopu characterises her youth as containing "much hardship". In 1978, her family moved to Sydney, Australia. In Australia, Kopu became involved with community programs aimed at drug users and prostitutes, something...

. Kopu, however, eventually left the party, founding her own Mana Wahine Te Ira Tangata

Mana Wahine Te Ira Tangata

Mana Wahine Te Ira Tangata was a small and short-lived political party in New Zealand. It was established by Alamein Kopu, a member of the New Zealand Parliament who had left her original party . After a short time as an independent MP, Kopu established Mana Wahine as her own party...

 party. In the 1999 elections

New Zealand general election, 1999

The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...

, another Mana Motuhake candidate, Willie Jackson, entered Parliament as an Alliance MP. In 2001, Jackson successfully challenged Lee-Vercoe for leadership of the party.

In 2002, when the Alliance split into moderate and radical factions, Mana Motuhake sided with the radicals, led by Laila Harré

Laila Harré

Laila Jane Harré is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was a Member of Parliament for the left-wing Alliance party, and became the party's leader for a brief period after the group experienced a schism in 2002.-Early life:...

 and Matt McCarten

Matt McCarten

Matthew "Matt" McCarten is a New Zealand political organiser. He has been involved with several leftist or centre-left political parties, and is also active in the trade-union movement...

. Lee-Vercoe, the former leader, sided with Jim Anderton

Jim Anderton

James Patrick Anderton, usually known as Jim Anderton , is the leader of the Progressive Party, a New Zealand political party. He has served in Parliament since 1984. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and is currently also the sitting Father of the House, the longest...

's moderate faction, but decided to retire from Parliament rather than stand for his breakaway Progressive Party

New Zealand Progressive Party

Jim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....

. In the 2002 elections

New Zealand general election, 2002

The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...

, the remnants of the Alliance were defeated, and Mana Motuhake was left without representation in Parliament. Shortly afterwards, it left the Alliance.

With the rise of the new Māori Party

Maori Party

The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...

, most of Mana Motuhake's support was transferred to the new group, and Mana Motuhake was deregistered in 2005.