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A band plays during annual Ratana Church celebrations at Ratana Pa near Wanganui - Source: ONE News -
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Labour and Maori Party MPs descended on Ratana on Sunday to mark the beginning of the political year and to join the birthday celebrations of the prophet Ratana.
Twenty-five MPs joined thousands of church members at Ratana Pa near Wanganui.
Labour Leader Phil Goff was keen to reinforce that the Labour Party is in step with the Ratana movement and he played up their historic ties.
"There are fads, there are things that come and go, but Labour has stood the test of time, 78 years on this marae," Goff says.
Last year, the welcome was frosty but they have been working hard to change that.
Labour deputy leader Annette King met four times last year with Ratana officials.
Those meetings seemed to pay off but Labour was reminded to appreciate the support.
Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti, Parekura Horomia, rubbished suggestions that the links between Labour and Ratana are fading.
"That we may stray, that there may be opinions thrown out by the vampires of the press is another matter," Horomia says.
But it is clear the Maori Party are big players at Ratana too as they got a separate welcome.
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples showed they may be in partnership with National but they are still connected to Labour.
"The ideals of Labour are still ours too, so it is a very difficult thing," says Sharples.
But the Labour message does not always sit well.
Maori Party MP Hone Harawira is back with his party for the first time since the fallout over his trip to Europe last year.
His upbeat mood was echoed throughout the small settlement as they celebrate the birthday of their prophet.
