The Mana Movement, originally known as the Mana Party, was a
political party in New Zealand
New Zealand politics have featured a strong party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party.
The centre-left New Zealand Labour Party and the cen ...
. The party was led by
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate.
In 2011, following ...
who formed it in April 2011 following his resignation from the
Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
. Harawira won the
by-election in Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party and retained the seat during the
2011 general election in November.
Under a short-term agreement with the
Internet Party, a joint
Internet Party and Mana Movement contested the
2014 general election with the Mana Movement providing the first, third and fourth list candidates.
Despite being funded by online millionaire
Kim Dotcom
Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz; born 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a Finnish-German Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand.
He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a ha ...
, the Internet Party and Mana Movement failed to win a single seat. Harawira lost his seat to
Labour Party candidate
Kelvin Davis, and with only 1.42% of the party vote, Internet Mana did not return to parliament.
During the
2017 general election, the Mana Movement took 0.1% of the party vote and failed to gain any seats.
It did not contest the
2020 general election and instead endorsed the Māori Party.
On 3 May 2021 the party's registration was cancelled at its own request.
Principles and policies
Mana describes itself as "a political
waka
WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...
for all peoples" with a specific focus on giving a voice to "the poor, the powerless and the dispossessed" and on striving to "empower them against the government by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful".
Policies include:
* Establishing Government-funded breakfast and lunch programmes in all decile 1 and decile 2 schools.
* Abolition of the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the establishment of a
tax on financial transactions ("
Hōne Heke
Hōne Wiremu Heke Pōkai ( 1807 – 7 August 1850), born Heke Pōkai and later often referred to as Hōne Heke, was a highly influential Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) and a war leader in northern New Zealand; he was ...
" tax).
*
Nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
of monopolies and
duopolies.
*
Full employment
Full employment is an economic situation in which there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment. Full employment does not entail the disappearance of all unemployment, as other kinds of unemployment, namely structural and frictional, may ...
.
* Build 10,000 new
state house State House or statehouse may refer to:
Buildings
*Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria
*Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica
* State House, Bar ...
s a year.
* A
living wage of $18.80hr
*
Free education
Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in most countries (often not including primary textboo ...
from preschool through to tertiary.
* Full amnesty for Pacific Island overstayers.
* Make
Te Reo Māori a core curriculum subject in schools.
History
Formation
The party was formed following Hone Harawira's resignation from the
Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
after that party's disciplinary committee recommended his expulsion. He had been vocal in his opposition to the Māori Party's position on the
foreshore and seabed issue. Harawira began organising a new party to compete with the Māori Party, and attracted the support of left-wing activist
John Minto
John Minto (born ) is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on ''New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers'' listed him as number 89. ...
and of former Green MPs
Nándor Tánczos
Nándor Steven Tánczos (, ; born 29 May 1966) is a New Zealander, New Zealand social ecologist, researcher, educator, activist and political commentator. He is currently a councillor in the Whakatāne District Council. He is also co-director o ...
and
Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford (born 1 July 1952 in Auckland) is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.
Bradford is an eco-socialist. In 2019, s ...
. The party formally launched on 30 April 2011.
On 4 May 2011 Harawira stated his intention to resign his seat (
Te Tai Tokerau
Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...
) in order to be recognised as a candidate of the Mana Party in any subsequent by-election; after his resignation from the Māori Party, parliamentary rules on political parties in the House recognised Harawira only as an Independent MP. Following criticism by
Labour, the
Greens and the Māori Party that the by-election would be "a ridiculous publicity stunt" and would cost the NZ taxpayer $500,000, Harawira put his resignation on hold, saying that he wanted to take the decision back to the people of his Te Tai Tokerau electorate. He announced his resignation from Parliament, forcing the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, on 11 May 2011.
Possible candidates for other constituencies included Māori lawyer and party co-vice president
Annette Sykes
Annette Te Imaima Sykes (born ) is a New Zealand activist and lawyer who advocates for the rights of List of Māori iwi, Māori tribes to be Tino rangatiratanga, self-governing. She was ranked third on the joint Internet Party and Mana Movement, ...
and former
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
organiser and party chairman
Matt McCarten
Matthew McCarten (born 11 February 1959) is a New Zealand political organiser and trade unionist, of Ngāpuhi descent. McCarten was active with several trade unions including the Hotel and Hospital Workers' Union, the Unite Union, and the One Un ...
. Harawira stated that he hoped that five Mana MPs would enter the
50th New Zealand Parliament
The 50th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2011 general election. It had 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat), and was in place from December 2011 until September 2014, followed by the 2014 general election. The first sittin ...
after the 26 November 2011
New Zealand general election.
The party applied for registration on 24 May 2011; registration was granted on 24 June 2011;
[
] and in September 2011 the Electoral Commission registered the party's logo.
2011 general election
The Mana Party did not receive taxpayer-funded television airtime during the 2011 general-election campaign, as it was formed after the 17 March deadline for funding applications.
Mana ran seven candidates in
Māori electorates
In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
and 14 in General seats; a total of 21 on their list. Harawira comfortably retained his seat in Te Tai Tokerau and Annette Sykes polled over 5,000 votes in the Māori stronghold of Waiariki. Countrywide, Mana gained just under 20,000 votes, 1% of the electorate.
Due to the New Zealand MMP electoral system, gaining an electorate seat was an important achievement for the party as this is often the first step in achieving a long term parliamentary presence, as shown by
Peter Dunne
Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician.
Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...
and
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of Left-wing politics, left-wing parties after leaving the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party in 1989.
Anderton's pol ...
. This was achieved against strong competition for the Māori vote within the electorate; by the Māori Party and the
Labour Party, rather than by
tactic agreement as was the case with
ACT/
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
in the Epsom electorate.
2013 Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election
In the June 2013
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election Mana candidate and former
Māori Television
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
presenter Te Hamua Nikora came second place with 26.1% of the vote.
2013 local elections
John Minto
John Minto (born ) is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on ''New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers'' listed him as number 89. ...
stood as the Mana Party candidate for
Auckland mayor in the
2013 local body elections. Minto's flagship policy was
free public transport
Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is public transport which is fully funded by means other than collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local governme ...
for
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. On the John Minto for Mayor ticket there were multiple candidates standing for councillor and local board positions across Auckland for the 2013 local body elections. Minto was the fifth-highest polling candidate for mayor, with
Len Brown
Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 November 2 ...
re-elected by a significant margin.
Internet Party and Mana Movement, 2014

In May 2014, Mana leader Hone Harawira and
Internet Party chief executive, Vikram Kumar, announced an alliance between the parties. Mana member
Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford (born 1 July 1952 in Auckland) is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.
Bradford is an eco-socialist. In 2019, s ...
resigned in response. The Internet Party named
Laila Harre as its first leader shortly afterwards, with the Mana Party having "had a hand" in her selection.
The combined entity, the
Internet Party and Mana Movement, contested the
2014 general election. The memorandum of understanding between the Mana Movement and Internet Party gave Mana the first, third and fourth places on the Internet Mana Party list. Electorate candidates stood only as members of the Mana Movement rather than Internet Party and Mana Movement.
The agreement will remain in force until at least six weeks after polling day. The two component parties agreed to review their arrangement within five weeks of the election.
Despite being funded by online billionaire Kim Dotcom, the Internet Party and Mana Movement failed to win a single seat in the election. Dotcom, who was not a candidate because he is not a New Zealand citizen,
[New Zealand's National Party wins re-election](_blank)
BBC News 20 September 2014 told reporters as election results became clear, "I take full responsibility for this loss tonight because the brand—the brand Kim Dotcom—was poison for what we were trying to achieve."
''The New York Times'', 20 September 2014
2017 general election
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate.
In 2011, following ...
ran again in
Te Tai Tokerau
Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...
as the Mana Movement leader, utilising a
memorandum of understanding with Māori Party to not contest in any electorates where
Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
are running candidates, with the aim of regaining all the
Māori electorates
In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
from the
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...
. The party will run four list candidates, including two electorate candidates. In addition to Harawira, Papalii James Papali'i ran in
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
.
During the
2017 general election, Hone Harawira failed again to regain his seat in Te Tai Tokerau and was defeated by the incumbent Deputy Opposition Leader
Kelvin Davis. The party took 0.1% of the party vote, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.
2020 general election
The party did not contest the
2020 election.
It instead endorsed the
Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
for both the electorate and party votes, and used its resources to campaign for its former rival.
Extra-parliamentary activism
Since its formation, Mana activists have been involved in multiple extra-parliamentary campaigns against the policies of the
National Government. Mana activists were prominent in the local protests of the
Occupy Movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primar ...
, opposition to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the
privatisation
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of energy companies.
Since early 2012, in the working-class Auckland suburb of
Glen Innes scores of Mana activists including
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate.
In 2011, following ...
and
John Minto
John Minto (born ) is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on ''New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers'' listed him as number 89. ...
have been arrested protesting the privatisation of state housing and the eviction of hundreds of residents.
In 2013, in the South Auckland suburb of
Māngere
Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...
members of Mana's Māngere Branch led a successful campaign against a proposed motorway through the suburb which would have destroyed hundreds of homes and cut across the grounds of three local schools. Mana has also organised protests that has led to the removal of illegal
gaming machines
A gaming computer, also known as a gaming PC, is a specialized personal computer designed for playing PC games at high standards. They typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance graphics cards, a high core-co ...
from a fast food shop in
Ōtara
Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...
.
In 2014, Mana began publishing and distributing its own newspaper ''MANA News'' to its supporters around the country and online. , it had last updated in May 2019.
The party de-registered on 5 May 2021.
Electoral results
Parliament
Mayoral election results
Party presidents
See also
*
Māori politics
Māori politics () is the politics of the Māori people, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority.
Before the arrival of Pākehā (Europeans) in New Zealand, Māori society was based lar ...
*
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
Notes
References
External links
Official website (archived July 2015)Mana Movement News
{{New Zealand political parties
2011 establishments in New Zealand
Indigenous rights organizations
Māori political parties in New Zealand
Political parties established in 2011