The three Ps of Waitangi Day in 2017

Prime Minister Bill English accepts a wero at the Te Tii Marae in 2015, but won't be coming in 2017.

Bill English should be at Te Tii Marae this Waitangi Day.

And by not being there, he's avoiding part of his initiation as prime minister.

"Will they - won't they" is an annual dance between Ngapuhi and the PM.

Yes, Waitangi Day can become a circus. Yes, there may be the occasional dildo-throwing clown (a tough act to follow this year, by the way). And protests.

And yes, the PM should be there.

Relationships between the National party and Ngapuhi are delicate right now.

Minister of Treaty Negotiations Chris Finlayson must have the patience of Saint Monica. She was not specifically the Patron Saint of Patience, but she had a wayward son, a cantankerous mother-in-law and a volatile husband.

Mr Finlayson - who has been embedded in pre-negotiation talks with Ngapuhi for what seems like forever - has a great deal in common with Saint Monica.

But that is Ngapuhi - a colourful iwi not about to change overnight, that is making encouraging but slow progress toward settlement.

That alone is one of the reasons Mr English should front.

Instead, he will be in Auckland, and will avoid the tricky Ngapuhi waters.

Sad, given Parliament is no stranger to the disrespectful conduct cited by Mr English as a factor in his Te Tii snub.

It's also sad we focus on the PM "will he won't he" debate when more significant issues are being raised at Waitangi this year.

An annual Waitangi Day hikoi is a tradition, and this year, organisers have switched focus.

Instead of the environment and land issues being highlighted, organisers have responded to the feedback given to them, in relation to challenges facing Northland and New Zealand right now.

And so this year, the hikoi highlights P and the damage it is causing to our society.

That is a far more worthy cause worth grandstanding for than the traditional "Ps" of politicians and protesters.