Prime Minister John Key accepts the challenge at Te Tii Marae at Waitangi. Photo / John Stone
Settlements, sovereignty and Statoil were the dominant themes of the most peaceful start to Waitangi Day festivities in decades.
Traditionally February 5, the day the nation's politicians are welcomed to Te Tii Marae, has been the flashpoint when mud is thrown, leaders jostled and tears shed.
Prime Minister John Key had anticipated a rough reception this year, the 175th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, but the only glitch in a day of lively discussion and peaceful protest was Mr Key's late arrival.
A heavy presence of police and iwi liaison officers, plus a new marae committee determined to stage a peaceful welcome, made the chances of disruption slim.
Mr Key was escorted on to the marae on the arm of Ngapuhi matriarch Titewhai Harawira as warriors issued a series of spine-tingling wero (challenges). A few protesters held placards and shouted but were largely drowned out by the public address system and the chants of kaihoe (waka paddlers).
Meanwhile, a 200-strong hikoi protesting plans by Norwegian firm Statoil to explore for oil off Northland's west coast arrived at Waitangi shortly after Mr Key's welcome, waving flags, singing waiata and chanting, "Statoil go home". Statoil is the Norwegian-owned company that has been given permission to explore for oil off Northland's west coast.
Hikoi participants had used a mix of walking, cars, electric vehicles and bikes since leaving Cape Reinga last weekend. They were stopped before the marae gates by two rows of police officers blocking the road.
Mr Key used his speech at Waitangi to again urge Ngapuhi to resolve their differences and progress their settlement. The iwi is sharply divided between those who want a fast-tracked settlement reached by direct talks between a mandated body and the Government, and hapu groups that want to go through the full Waitangi Tribunal process. The Government wants to settle all historical claims by 2017, so is pushing for direct settlement.
Mr Key said he could not force Ngapuhi"s factions to see eye to eye, and it was not for him to try to navigate the tribe's politics.
"All I can say is the Government is a willing partner, ready to engage and settle. The people of the North and the people of Ngapuhi need help, but ... we can't force people to settle and we won't." A settlement with Ngapuhi was likely to total "a couple of hundred million dollars", a sum that could make a huge difference in a region with some of the country's worst housing and highest unemployment.
Mr Key also made a pitch for National's plans to sell off state housing and encouraged iwi, including Ngapuhi, to consider becoming social housing providers, saying they could probably do a better job than the Government.
Other topics that came up yesterday included the Waitangi Tribunal's finding late last year that Ngapuhi chiefs did not cede sovereignty when they signed the Treaty in 1840.
Mr Key was accused at the time of dismissing the long-awaited report but said yesterday it was more a case of "respectfully rejecting" the tribunal's finding. Later in the day, Mr Key attended an Iwi Chairs Forum meeting in Kerikeri where the big topic was Maori water rights. Spokesman Mark Solomon announced yesterday that the forum and the Government had agreed on a working plan to determine freshwater rights and allocations for iwi, and said he hoped the contentious issue could be resolved by next Waitangi Day.
Mr Key, however, said the Government had so far only agreed to work on a consultation document and would not budge on its stance that no one owned water. The talks follow a Supreme Court ruling last year that Maori did retain some rights to water.