Deadline not met so four are out says Tongia

As of 1 April 2010, William Heather Jnr, Apii Piho, Robert Wigmore and Cassey Eggelton are no longer members of the Democratic Party.
According to Makiuti Tongia President of the Democratic Party, the four did not meet the deadline (31 March 2010) for resigning their Ministerial posts and returning to the Party.
Only days earlier, William Heather was selected as the Democratic Party candidate for the Ruaau electorate.
At the selection meeting in Ruaau, Heather was said to be concerned when an hour into the meeting, only two on his electorate committee had shown up along with just two members of the public. By 7pm it was reported just 15 people were in attendance.
Heather last week told the Herald no ultimatum had been received in writing from the Democratic Party. A person who attended the meeting in Ruaau advised the Herald that they were informed that an ultimatum had been given. Tongia appears to be relying on earlier discussions and negotiations on terms and also a letter which he wrote to the Editor of the CI News which appeared about four weeks ago as sufficient notice of an ultimatum.
On Monday 5 April 2010, Radio Cook Islands contacted Tongia for comment on the situation regarding the status of the four Ministers involved. The questions put and his responses are set out below.
RCI. When was the ultimatum issued and on what basis?
MT: The ultimatum is now history. The CIP did an ultimatum a few weeks before the 2006 election in Marurai’s FIRST Party and CIP coalition government. The affected CIP MP did the right thing by resigning his cabinet post and returning to the party.
RCI. If this is true, and the Ministers do not resign from Cabinet, how would this affect the Party seeming it’s an Election year?
MT: It is an election year and the ministers are aware of the risks they have taken and the consequences of their action. In refusing to resign their ministerial posts, they have terminated their own membership and sacked themselves from our party.
They have not met our conditions, as we have not theirs. Their conditions were;
i. for the four of them to return with their ministerial portfolios or they wont resign,
ii. for the two sacked MPs Marurai and Wilkie to be reinstated as members of the party again and to be ministers before the next election
iii. for Sir Maoate to step down immediately as leader of the party in favour of Wigmore
or Marurai as leader.
Our conditions were;
i. for the four of them to resign their cabinet post and return to the party by end of March
ii. Sir Maoate to remain leader of the party until the next conference
iii. To hold a conference after the election
Both Marurai and Wigmore submitted their letters of interest to the party leadership last conference September 2009. Both withdrew their interests a day before the conference. The status quo on the leadership issue was maintained by the conference and Sir Maoate remained leader.
In sacking Marurai, we have also sacked him from the post of parliamentary leader.
This rift will not affect the party’s integrity until parliament opens, rumored now to be sometime in November. This rift is a spring cleaning that all political parties go through and this exercise will indeed raise the profile of the party and strengthen its resolve in our basic Maori values of loyalty, trust and integrity. The party will lose some supporters and gain new ones as is to be expected.
We are looking for candidates who sincerely want to serve others rather than themselves and their immediate families. We are looking for candidates who want to give rather than take from the people all the time. We are looking for a gathering of people committed to doing the right things right for this country first.
We are looking for more people of integrity from all positions of life, to advance the country into the future. We are looking for capable progressive people who can develop our country far beyond our limited resources as we have already shown in 45 years. May God’s almighty mana help those who will champion this call and strengthen our resolve to make this country stronger and self-sustaining in her national goals.
My appeal to this government is to put the country first before their goals of self-
preservation. Call parliament, - not in November but this month, this week, today. Resume parliament, so public money can be appropriated to fix the cyclone-damaged homes of Aitutaki, the northern group islands and invest in our key industries like tourism and pearls before the country goes bankrupt - not for lack of money but for lack of courage.
RCI. If there is no resignation by the Ministers, will candidates be selected to run in the upcoming election against them?
MT: The Democratic Party will contest all 24 seats in parliament. The seats do not belong to the incumbent members and their immediate or extended families. It is not a family seat. Kare ite taoonga kopu tangata. The seats belong to the people of this country and anyone qualified to run for those seats in parliament is entitled to do so.
RCI. Seeing it’s an election year, when will the Democratic Party hold its conference to announce the candidates?
MT: It is an election year, but you do not need a conference to announce your party candidates. Indeed, we have been announcing the names of those puna who have already confirmed their candidates including those puna with multiple candidates like Manihiki and Titikaveka on our radio hour for the past two months.
RCI. Will the Democratic Party be considering Karla’s resignation?
MT: We have considered her resignation and accepted her decision. We will miss her. Most of all we will miss her significant presence as the first woman vice president of this party since its humble beginnings in 1971.
RCI. Will there be any changes made to the party’s constitution considering that both the PM and Wilkie were expelled from the Party?
MT: Considering that, we have expelled Prime Minister Marurai and Wilkie Rasmussen from the Democratic Party in accordance with our constitution there will be no changes made to the party constitution because of that action. Coconut wireless however informs that supporters of the expelled MPs are pushing for a conference to amend the constitution so the two expelled can be reinstated so Marurai automatically becomes Prime Minister and leader of the party.
This is where it is morally wrong, to change the party constitution so the terms of some people in parliament and cabinet can be preserved for their lifetime. This is corruption at its best. It is absolute rule in the making.
A constitution is made for the good of all members of the party and not for the select few like the Prime Minister and Wilkie. To surrender to their whims is spawning dictatorships and future civil disorder.

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