Harawira admits 'serious bridge-building' needed

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Hone Harawira has offered an olive branch to his Maori Party colleagues as both sides appeared to pull back from the brink of a damaging split.

As the party's four other MPs yesterday held their first caucus since Mr Harawira's future was put on the line, the renegade MP used a weekly newspaper column to strike a conciliatory tone.

"I recognise that there needs to be some serious bridge-building on my part with my caucus colleagues, and I will be doing so over the next weeks," he wrote in the Northland Age.

He said he did not plan to resign from the party, but was preparing a plan on what he needed to do to stay, as required by party president Whatarangi Winiata.

The comments suggest Mr Harawira is keen to find a way to appease the party after Professor Winiata and co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples made clear his behaviour was unacceptable.

The disciplinary action stems from an email in which Mr Harawira said "white motherf.....s" had been "raping" Maori land for centuries.

The email was sent to a supporter who questioned Mr Harawira taking his wife on a day trip to Paris when he should have been attending meetings in Brussels as part of an official parliamentary delegation.

Mr Harawira issued his most fulsome apology for the email yesterday, accepting it had damaged his relationship with businesses in his Te Tai Tokerau electorate and many within the party.

The other four Maori Party MPs made a show of unity as they headed into Parliament yesterday, but none would be drawn on what was said during their caucus meeting.

Whip Te Ururoa Flavell said they had decided to make no comment till the end of the two-week period to allow the party and Mr Harawira and his electorate supporters "some breathing space", suggesting they hope the standoff can be resolved.

- © Fairfax NZ News