The Māori Party is considering not having any leaders at all, as co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell (Ngapuhi, Ngati Rangiwewehi, Te Arawa) officially steps down from the party.



It follows the party's failure to win any electorates in the 2017 election, when the Labour Party took a clean sweep of all seven Māori seats and won 1.1 percent of the party vote.

Leader Marama Fox says Mr Flavell is "one of the most underrated and underestimated leaders of Māoridom".

"If working hard was a prerequisite for winning a Māori seat, Te Ururoa should have been Prime Minister," she told Newshub.

Mr Flavell represented the Māori Party in Parliament for 12 years. He was co-leader from 2013 until 2018, serving as Minister for Māori Development from 2014 until 2017.