Chaotic scenes ensued in July 1997 when MP Alamein Kopu resigned from the Alliance. Kopu had been elected as a list MP for the Alliance the previous year, in New Zealand's first mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) election. After leaving the Alliance she set up her own party, Mana Wahine Te Ira Tangata. The phenomenon of MPs changing their party allegiance while in Parliament became known as 'party-hopping' or 'waka-jumping'. The Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act passed in 2001 required such MPs to vacate their seats. It expired at the 2005 election.
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