Te Pāti Māori is in free fall. That is the only honest way to describe what has happened inside the party this week. The sackings of two MPs look unconstitutional, the process looks stitched up, and dozens of people who should have voted never even had the chance. Members have contacted us directly and their message is clear: the party has been swallowed by one man’s network.

Today Duncan breaks down the tangled web around John Tamihere, the family links, the work connections, and the extraordinary level of influence running through almost every layer of the party. When the president’s relatives, employees and loyalists sit across key seats and national council positions, how democratic is the process really?

We look at why this matters, why the expulsions may not stand up to scrutiny, and why some inside the movement are now calling for JT to step aside before the whole project collapses. Plus, we hear from listeners frustrated by the state of frontline services, from hospitals to basic safety.

This is a moment of reckoning for Te Pāti Māori. The question now is whether the party survives the storm.

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