The signing of the Treaty. Photo / Alexander Turnbull Library
This week, Mr Flavell laughed when asked if he would provide similar human-shield services. "I'll be watching for my own body as much as anybody else's. He's got the diplomatic protection squad to take care of him, so I'll leave him to it."
He said he did not know what to expect. "Every year it's a little bit different. So I'll just go with it."
Maori Party MPs are often subjected to calls of "kupapa" - traitor - because of their support deal with National.
Mr Flavell said he had been at Waitangi every year since the Maori Party went into Government with National "so it's not new to me".
Dr Sharples and fellow former co-leader Dame Tariana Turia had strong relationships with Mr Key and Finance Minister Bill English, who often referred to the pair's tendency to haul National's leadership into line if they felt they had erred.
But Mr Flavell is still building that relationship - in the past he kept some distance as the only Maori Party MP not bound by the convention of collective ministerial responsibility.
This week, he said he disagreed with the PM's comment late last year that New Zealand was settled "peacefully" but had not raised it with him, partly because he had not had the opportunity.
Mr Key made that statement in response to a Waitangi Tribunal finding that Ngapuhi chiefs had agreed to share power but had not ceded their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty in 1840.
Ngapuhi's Treaty settlement negotiations have been held up by a challenge by some hapu to the Government's decision to recognise Tuhoronuku as the negotiating body. Mr Flavell said he was of Ngapuhi ancestry and had made his view clear behind closed doors but did not want to intervene publicly.
At Waitangi, he will meet the Iwi Chairs Forum with other ministers. But he hopes to get time to wander around the grounds, including visiting the big tent alongside the marae reserved for discussions.
"The main point is to try and go with a listening ear, to hear what people are saying. I don't intend to make any contribution to the speeches, but to simply listen."
Sir Jerry to visit site of biggest Treaty signing
The Governor-General will mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi by visiting the historic Mangungu Mission in Hokianga today - the first time a Queen's representative has visited the Wesleyan mission house since Lieutenant Governor William Hobson oversaw the signing of the Treaty there on February 12, 1840.
The mission was the site of the largest signing ceremony as the Treaty was taken around the country in 1840.
Sir Jerry Mateparae will travel to the event after being welcomed on to Te Tii Marae this morning.
Ngapuhi elder Kingi Taurua said the Governor-General would be asked who he believed he was responsible to. "I don't know whether he is representing Maori or the Crown. That is a question he will be asked - where does he stand in terms of Te Tiriti o Waitangi?"
Labour MPs, including leader Andrew Little, are also expected to attend the event at Mangungu. A smaller ceremony will be held on February 12 - the day the mission usually commemorates the signing.
Mangungu Mission manager Mita Harris said it would be a special occasion and the table on which the Treaty was signed would have a central role.
"Historically, the signing of the Treaty at Mangungu had a large impact on the community. About 70 rangatira, who subsequently signed the Treaty, gathered at the mission and between 2000 and 3000 Maori attended on the day, making it easily the largest signing of the Treaty."
However, there could be an edge to the ceremony. Mr Harris said elders would have a message for the Governor-General. That could relate to a Waitangi Tribunal finding late last year that Ngapuhi chiefs did not cede sovereignty by signing the Treaty - something the Government has played down.
