By Willie Jackson

There'll be only one winner if the Maori Party and the new Mana Party continue to war and that will be Labour.

Yes, you couldn't help but notice Labour leader Phil Goff licking his lips and enjoying the feud after last weekend's Tai Tokerau byelection win by Hone Harawira.

Harawira's victory was tremendous considering the much-vaunted Labour machine tried every trick in the book to beat him.

They threw thousands of dollars at the byelection, utilised the services of MPs and had union members working on the campaign fulltime.

However they just weren't good enough.

Despite the loss predictably Labour patted themselves on the back and ran the lines that they would win next time and the seven Maori seats would come back to Labour.

Unfortunately the chances of Labour returning the Maori seats is a real possibility if the leaders of the Maori Party and Mana continue their war of words and don't get their acts together.

And Goff knows Labour has a big chance especially if the candidates all line up against each other.

In Auckland for example Labour's Shane Jones was only 5 percent behind Pita Sharples in the last poll – if a high profile Mana candidate stood the seat would almost certainly go to Jones.

This would be replicated in the southern Maori seat and there's a high possibility it would happen in the Waiariki seat if Mana's Annette Sykes took on the Maori Party's Te Ururoa Flavell.

So that would just leave Tariana Turia which would be a nightmare result for the Maori Party considering many of us thought not so long ago that they were capable of holding all the Maori seats.

Hone Harawira would be a certainty to take his seat but having just him and Tariana as Maoridom's independent voices would not be enough to counter the mainstream views from five Labour Party Maori seat representatives.

The kaupapa is bigger than everyone and if the scary prospect of Labour returning in the Maori seats is not enough to motivate the leaders of the Mana and Maori parties to do a deal then Labour will be smiling all the way to November's election.

The Mana leadership has asked myself and John Tamihere to see if we can facilitate a peace agreement.

Despite the negativity from political observers that an agreement will be impossible I'm optimistic that JT and I can bring some peace between the parties.

Tariana Turia, Pita Sharples and Hone Harawira have a chance to do a deal and keep the Maori seats in the hands of an independent Maori voice over the next week.

I sincerely hope they grasp that opportunity.

Auckland Stuff.co.nz - 5th July 2011