Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi 'won't acknowledge Queen alone' at swearing-in

Originally published by Māori Television

Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi says he will not acknowledge the Queen alone when he is sworn into Parliament on Thursday.

"I don't want to swear allegiance to the Queen of England," Waititi told Māori TV's Peata Melbourne on Tuesday.

"It's okay if Ngā Rangatira o ngā Hapū o Aotearoa and the Treaty of Waitangi are also added. I will agree with that because of the burden our ancestors carried ... but it's a bit of a problem if it's the Queen alone."

Waititi, who wrested the Waiariki seat off Labour's Tāmati Coffey in one of election night's biggest upsets, said he'd be "creative" when he's sworn in: "Maybe I've found an alternative in my oath."

Waititi also said he was disappointed he and Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer wouldn't have a chance to respond to the Crown on Thursday because they hadn't yet delivered their maiden speeches.

"We have a problem with that because the Māori voice is silenced on the first day of Parliament."

Waititi and Ngawera-Packer will give their maiden speeches on December 3. "It's there we'll give our hopes and aspirations for the next three years," Waititi told Māori TV.

Waititi also affirmed his support for Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft's call for urgent transformation of the care and protection of Māori babies by Oranga Tamariki.

Becroft recommended that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet commit to transferring power and resources from the Government to enable by-Māori, for-Māori approaches that keep Māori babies in the care of their whānau.

"What I'll say is a new New Zealand is growing," Waititi said. "It's an NZ that wants to see Māori with equal rights in their own land."