Will Dr Lance O'Sullivan, the New Zealander of the year, be the next leader of the Maori Party?

He’s already put his hand up. He said before this year's election that he was interested in entering politics before the 2020 election - and wouldn't he be brilliant in the role?

He’s intelligent. Charismatic. Confident. Astute. He’s a good orator. He’s someone you'd go to war with, wouldn't you?

It would be hard to find a better person to lead Maori and the Maori Party, I would have thought. 

But what is perhaps his greatest attribute is that Dr O'Sullivan is getting into politics for the right reason.  Not for the salary. Not for the profile. But because he knows the best way to effect change and to improve the lives of Maori is to get into government and to introduce strong, life-changing policy. It’s easier said than done, but you get the feeling that if anyone could bring out change and improve life outcomes for Maori, it's this man.

He’s a well-respected doctor. He’s in the far north. He’s at the absolute coal face of the social and economic issues that all too often afflict Maori. He’s a modern day witness to the long term impact of urbanisation. Poverty. Unemployment. Poor health. Gang life. Domestic violence. Crime. Cyclical welfare dependency. A disproportionate representation in our prisons. And so it goes on. 

Dr O'Sullivan is a success story. And while he could have moved to any of our cities or overseas to advance his career and his bank balance, he's chosen to stay in the far north and help those who need it most. 

Where there might be a glitch in the system is that O’Sullivan says if he's going to lead the Maori Party, he'll do it on his own. 

And so he should. I’ve argued the same point about the Greens' leadership structure too. 

In politics, you need one clear leader. One person who heads up the party. One person who's accountable. Co-leaders tend to take on a sort of co-managerial role. It’s clumsy and ineffective. 

And we don't need managers in politics. Managers are box tickers. We need leaders. We need disrupters. O’Sullivan fits that bill. 

Remember earlier this year when O’Sullivan slammed the anti-vaccination movement? It was at a screening of the documentary 'Vaxxed' in Kaitaia.

He jumped on stage and said to the anti-vaxxers and those who'd come to watch that documentary: "Your presence here will cause babies to die."

It was, at the very least, incredibly confronting. 

O’Sullivan is nothing if not a disrupter. He is the man to lead the Maori Party but the Party has to shift on its co-leadership stance. And they should. They have little choice. 

In the midst of the mood for change in this year's election, the party was the casualty, failing to get cut through because of the resurgence of Labour, and hamstrung by its association with National. They badly mis-read the electorate and the Maori vote deserted the Maori Party. 

O’Sullivan could turn that around. I hope the Maori Party is dynamic enough to see his worth and recognise that O’Sullivan will be to the Maori Party what Ardern has been to labour. A true game-changer.