Ngāpuhi leaders walk out of meeting with Christopher Luxon in protest

By RNZ

Ngāpuhi leaders have walked out of a meeting with the Prime Minister in a protest over coalition Government policies.

Chair Mana Tahere said the delegation would not sit in the room in silence with a government it said was running roughshod over Māori.

He says there is frustration and dissatisfaction over the way the Government is treating Māori.

Tahere cited issues like Māori wards, changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act, moves to overturn the seabed and foreshore judgement and the forthcoming Treaty Principles bill.

The meeting was part of a National iwi Chairs Forum this morning in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Mana Tahere says Ngāpuhi wants to exclude the Government from meetings until further notice.

It is planning a rally in Kaikohe tomorrow and at Parliament on Monday.

There were a number of Government ministers at the Forum. They included Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith, Minister of Māori Development Tama Potaka, Customs and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua is taking the Government to court over its plans to overturn a judgement that lowered the threshold for recognising customary rights to the foreshore and seabed.

It was one of the Government actions the Ngāpuhi leaders cited for their walkout.

The Justice Minister wants to go back to how things were before the Court of Appeal decision, where Māori wanting Customary Marine Title need to prove they have had continuous exclusive use and ownership of an area since 1840.

Rūnanga co-chairs, Reverend John Marsden and Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish, say it is an abritary decision, and exposes the Government’s contempt towards its Treaty partner.

- RNZ - with reporting from Te Ao Māori News