The protest, a follow-up of Te Pāti Māori’s Day of National Action in December last year, is a direct response to the policies of the coalition government, many of which have been panned as “anti-Māori” and an “attack” on Māori.
Such policies included the repeal of Smokefree 2025 laws, co-governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi but the list of policies facing this criticism has swollen to include the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and the Treaty Principles Bill.
Earlier
A message seen by Te Ao Māori News explained that co-ordinators had been appointed across the motu, and a social media campaign would be led by Eru Kapa-Kingi, the son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who was himself ninth on the party’s list in the 2023 general election.
The message also laid out the kaupapa of the activation:
- “demonstrating a unified Aotearoa response to the government’s assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi”;
- “demonstrating the might of tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti working together”;
- “the revolution of Gen-T (Generation Tiriti) standing up for and protecting the rights of all of our mokopuna”; and
- “asserting the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as enduring and everlasting.”
Finally, the message called for peaceful, respectful, mokopuna-focused and friendly behaviour with good wairua.
