Eru Kapa-Kingi. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Documents released by Te Pāti Māori include accusations that Eru Kapa-Kingi - the son of one of its MPs - unleashed a profane and threatening "tirade of abuse" at Parliamentary security last year.
The documents - emailed to members late Monday night - included an apparent statement from a Parliamentary Service staffer about the alleged "abusive behaviour" on Budget Day last year.
In the account, the staffer claimed Kapa-Kingi unleashed a "combination of... abuse, language and racism" toward security and used terms such as: "f***ing white baldhead c***" and "I will f***ing knock you out".
Kapa-Kingi is a spokesperson for the Toitū Te Tiriti protest movement and the son of MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. He is also a former Te Pāti Māori vice-president and staffer in his mother's office.
Earlier this month, he publicly cut ties with the party and accused its leadership of being toxic and dictatorial.
Kapa-Kingi has not responded to RNZ's repeated requests for comment. In a post on social media he said he would not respond to media, but would issue a statement later in the day.
That response on Tuesday afternoon did not directly address the allegations but stated there was "no question" of his whānau's integrity.
Parliamentary Service told RNZ it did not comment on "individual employment matters or internal party correspondence".
The allegations
In the letter, the staffer - whose name is redacted - claimed that Kapa-Kingi had showed "complete disregard toward security" after being caught tailgating through the main entrance security gates, despite having a family member swipe card.
When stopped and questioned by a guard, Kapa-Kingi refused to go through the usual screening process and "started his abuse", the letter claimed.
"Eru has said to me that he doesn't have to do anything I say or show me the relevant Parliament ID because I am not a cop and I'm just a security guard who can't do s**t."
The staffer said Kapa-Kingi adopted an "aggressive tone and came across with a lot of hatred and intimidation", repeatedly referring to one security guard as a "f***ing white baldhead c***".
Other terms allegedly used included: "you are just a piece of s***", "f*** you c***" and "get f****d".
"I found that kind of abusive behaviour very confronting and completely unacceptable, especially for the place that we work," the staffer's letter said.
"With the combination of the abuse, language and racism displayed by Eru, I firmly believed that he was going to go through with his threats of physical violence."
Kapa-Kingi allegedly also repeatedly questioned the guards whether they knew who he and his family were: "You are going to be so embarrassed and f***ed when you find out."
"Words such as this I believe were used to try and intimidate [redacted] and myself, hoping that we would back down from the situation, let him get away with what he had done and not take things further," the letter said.
The staffer said the whole situation could have been resolved "a lot sooner and a lot easier" if Kapa-Kingi had simply retrieved his access card from his bag or undergone through the brief screening process.
The letter requested that Kapa-Kingi be dismissed from his current employment and be barred from reapplying for a family access card.
Te Pāti Māori's email to members claimed that Kapa-Kingi was ultimately trespassed from the Parliamentary premises and had his contract terminated for "serious misconduct".
The email claimed Kapa-Kingi was later brought back under a different company name as a way of circumventing the termination.
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