Biggest Waitangi event in many years

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

The 184th Waitangi Day has confirmed that the Treaty is going to remain a significant issue for the new Government which, even at this early stage, could eventually define it.

The flashpoint came on Monday when the Government group was welcomed on to the Treaty grounds and all the party leaders addressed a crowd determined to show them how they felt.

Winston Peters and David Seymour got the expected hostile reception and seemed keen to respond in kind.

Peters appeared to thrive on the heckling, telling hecklers to get an education, while Seymour said he heard people say they were spiders but not even Donald Trump was calling his opponents insects.

“We need to start talking and stop attacking people,” he said.

Christopher Luxon chose to take a more presidential-type approach with a middle-of-the road speech that avoided discussing the Treaty and te reo, which some commentators said was the right one for the occasion for the prime minister.

As for the hundreds of angry Māori, they chose to use waiata and chant “e noho” (sit down) rather than some of the more extreme actions seen in previous years such as throwing mud at former National Party leader Don Brash and a dildo at National’s Steven Joyce.

In that sense they can leave Waitangi with the knowledge that their strong opposition to any changes to the interpretation of the Treaty has been delivered forcefully and in a mostly dignified way that will ultimately help their cause.

Waitangi Trust chair Pita Tipene summed it up well when he said that there had been progress even though that might be glacial. “We’re hearing that we have got a problem and let’s get down and have some earnest discussions,” he said.

But the question now is what will happen as the bill to review the Treaty principles starts its way through the House.

Although it seems likely that the bill won’t get past its first reading, a lot of damage has been done to the relationship between the Crown and Māori.

By contrast, Waitangi Day itself followed tradition and was much more peaceful.

Any doubts that the day itself still matters could be seen in the thousands making their way to the Treaty grounds yesterday. Regular attenders said it was the biggest they had seen for decades.

Waitangi Day also brought the news that King Charles III has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and is postponing his public duties. It was bad news for a royal family seeking to re-establish itself after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.