Dover Samuels

Former Labour Party MP Dover Samuels is a veteran of Māori politics. But on his rise to prominence, a political scandal threatened to derail his career.

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*The views expressed in this interview are the honestly held opinion of Dover Samuels

Former Labour Party MP Dover Samuels is a veteran of Māori politics. But on his rise to prominence - a political scandal threatened to derail his career.

"I had all the bloody undercover agents knocking on my door in the Beehive... 'you should resign, you should resign'... I refused, simple as that - so I got sacked."

Dover Samuels opens up to Mantangeria presenter Mihingarangi Forbes about the unfounded sex crime allegation which lost him his ministerial portfolio.

Before entering politics - Dover Samuels had already seen and experienced more than most people.

As a young boy he was part of the generation caned for speaking Māori at school. As a young man he served in the air-force, and later moved to Australia to perform with the Māori showbands.

Dover Samuels entered Parliament in 1996 as a list MP for the Labour Party and quickly rose through the ranks of the Labour Party under the leadership of Helen Clark.

And in 1999 there was change in the air as the Labour Party swept into power.

The Te Tai Tokerau was part of that change - being appointed Minister of Māori Affairs and becoming the highest ranked Māori MP in the Labour caucus.

But just a year into his tenure - he would be left fighting for his political survival.

Samuels became the subject of a police investigation into alleged historical sex crimes. He was later cleared, but never regained his former ministerial portfolio.

"It was an interesting part of my political life. It was interesting because you begin to see through the veil of hypocrisy," he said.

Samuels points the finger at former ACT leader Richard Prebble, claiming he was the "architect" in parliament who pushed for the allegations to be escalated and investigated.

"I regret not smacking him between the eyes... not giving him an uppercut if you like."

The Prime Minister at the time, Helen Clark, stripped Mr Samuels of his Māori Affairs portfolio.

"I had all the bloody undercover agents knocking on my door in the Beehive... "you should resign, you should resign"... I refused, simple as that - so I got sacked."

Once the political storm passed - Dover Samuels was cleared of any wrongdoing - with his whānau eventually receiving an apology…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details