Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has hit back at the allegations of “major overspending” from her own party last week, insisting her electorate budget has never been overspent.
She has not addressed questions about the appropriateness of hiring her son Eru Kapa-Kingi in her office.
In a late-night email last Monday, Te Pāti Māori’s leadership levelled a number of claims about Kapa-Kingi and her son, including that Parliamentary Services had warned she was on track to overspend her office budget by up to $133,000.
In an post on social media this afternoon, Kapa-Kingi said she had taken “some time” to decide how to respond without getting caught up in the “unforgivable storm of the mainstream media”.
She said her Tai Tokerau budget had “not ever been overspent” despite the claims from her party’s co-leaders and president.
Kapa-Kingi said rather her allocated budget had been “adjusted” while she took on extra staff to support the late Takutai Tarsh Kemp, the MP for Tāmaki Makaurau.
“She needed extra support to focus on her oranga [health] and the responsibility to hāpai [support] her electorate fell to me, as the closest MP to her rohe. The budget under my kaitiakitanga [guardianship] had to be adjusted to accommodate new staff to cover that added mahi.
“The leadership approved the payment of the first tranche of the work, indicating the arrangements were suitable and sufficient. Payment happened without contest or alarm. I continued with the same arrangements.”
Kapa-Kingi said she also took on extra administrative work as the Party Whip, which she said would typically be covered by the “Central Party Budget”, managed by party leaders.
“I believed Te Pāti Māori leadership would support further budget reallocation to cover the requirements of this role they entrusted me with.
“For whatever reason, they did not. Fortunately, the Speaker of the House, (who has the last say on all budgetary matters), approved my budget adjustments and confirmed no rules had been breached.”
Kapa-Kingi said the leaders were well aware of this extra work and the approval made by the Speaker: “I remain unsure why this budget reallocation was shared publicly without the context it was made in.”
She said the recent period had been “challenging” but she remained focused on the “kaupapa that matter most to our people”.
“I want to say this clearly: I am here. I am still your MP. I continue to work for Te Tai Tokerau with the same passion and commitment that carried us through our first campaign together.
“The path ahead is long, but our tupuna have shown us how to stand firm in the storm and move with dignity through the changing winds. My focus remains on the mahi that unites us and getting back to the real mahi on the ground.”
rnz.co.nz
