He was active in the early New Zealand Labour Party and had close friendships with Peter Fraser and Walter Nash; he was active in the campaign for the Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. He met with Fraser to reaffirm the ownership of the 100 acre block where he lived as having being set aside for Māori under the Wakefield land settlement so that the land there would be used for state built rental homes for Māori. He stood as a Labour candidate for the Lower Hutt City Council, unsuccessfully, at the 1947 local-body elections.
