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Opinion by Chris Hipkins
Chris Hipkins is the leader of the Labour Party
Christopher Luxon is not attending Waitangi, despite allowing debate on the Treaty Principles Bill.
The bill is seen as potentially undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi, causing significant public concern.
Māori continue to face challenges, and Labour reaffirms its commitment to upholding Te Tiriti.
The Prime Minister is not at Waitangi.
Despite kicking off one of the most divisive debates on race relations in our lifetimes, prompting one of the biggest protests to Parliament we’ve ever seen and record public participation in the submissions process on the Treaty Principles Bill, Christopher Luxon has declinedto front up.
Waitangi National Trust Board chairman Pita Tipene (left) and Labour leader Chris Hipkins (right) hongi after being welcomed at Te Whare Runanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds last year. Photo / David Fisher
At Waitangi, we mark the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi because it is New Zealand’s founding document. It forms the strong foundation for much of what we are most proud of as a nation.
Across the motu, from the dining room tables to court benches, Te Tiriti has been subject of much discussion since it was signed between Māori and the Crown 185 years ago.
That’s part of the reason why people are jarred by the idea that a bill currently before Parliament could intentionally undermine Te Tiriti’s very existence.
It’s a document that means something to us, and the mere idea of waltzing in and changing what it means in 2025 is beyond ridiculous.
Te Tiriti is about a peaceful New Zealand where everyone can thrive.
In 2025 we can reflect on what could have been had the Crown not used its considerable heft to breach Te Tiriti repeatedly over many decades. Māori lost land, language, culture, connection. The impact of that loss has been felt through the generations.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon alongside David Seymour, Winston Peters and Cabinet ministers at Te Whare Rūnanga, Waitangi Treaty Grounds on February 5, 2024. Photo / Adam Pearse
Today, Māori still face loss of language, racism, inequitable access to services, and worse health and education outcomes than non-Māori.
It took courage, determination, and hope to claw back what Te Tiriti guaranteed.
And here we are 185 years after signing, and we are not only facing Te Tiriti being breached, but it being rewritten.
Last year, I stood and listened to the thousands that marched to Parliament to protest the Treaty Principles Bill. What I heard was decades of hurt, pain, and unrealised grief. I heard the struggle to retain what Te Tiriti promised.
We’ve made progress to ensure equity for all who call New Zealand home, but there is still so far to go.
I still believe that it is possible for New Zealand to embrace a society in which te reo is valued, in which ways of doing things by Māori for Māori are resourced and celebrated.
An Aotearoa in which Māori and non-Māori can participate in our country’s future and prosperity without fear of each other.
A New Zealand in which Māori are represented in Parliament, in local councils, in all aspects of New Zealand life without prejudice.
So on Waitangi Day, I will take the opportunity to reaffirm Labour’s commitment to upholding the relationship between Māori and the Crown that was formed on this whenua on February 6, 1840.
All of us can work in partnership together, can participate together, and thrive.
Our taringas are turned on. People are listening, though Christopher Luxon has declined the invite to be a part of the conversation at Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
A more divided country will be his legacy.
We can be better than this. We can come together. We can celebrate the opportunities in front of us and recommit ourselves to a fair go for all, Māori and non-Māori alike.
We can continue to front up to the wrongs of the past and put them right. We can move forward positively together. To me, that is what Waitangi Day should be all about.
