Newstalk ZB political reporter Ethan Griffiths is at Waitangi and told The Front Page that there’s a different vibe this year.
“There are things on the periphery. There isn’t that sort of main issue that we saw in 2025.
“Security again is very, very tight. We’ve got police walking around everywhere. We’ve got military police. I’ve seen police in overalls with long sticks with mirrors on them to check underneath cars,” he said.
One major difference this year is that one of New Zealand’s largest iwi, the South Island’s Ngāi Tahu, is attending celebrations for the first time in more than two decades.
”It’s the fifth-largest iwi in the country, and they do tend to do their own thing.
“Some of that is probably down to distance if we’re honest ... The reason this year, though, is kotahitanga. About two years ago, the late Kīngitanga called upon Māori to come together and show unity in the face of what they saw as harmful policies from the government.
“As a result, Ngāi Tahu this year has decided to attend events here at Waitangi. Last year, they held events as usual in Canterbury, which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon actually attended,” he said.
All of this is while a decision on Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s future with Te Pāti Māori is being heard in a Wellington court this week.
She was expelled from Te Pāti Māori last year, which the party claims was prompted by the MP bringing the party into disrepute and misusing funds for her personal gain.
Kapa-Kingi has contested both claims and is challenging her expulsion while also seeking John Tamihere’s election as party president to be invalidated by the court.
Griffiths noted that she was reinstated by the court late last year to the party pending a full hearing, which happened this week.
“Of course, this is Kapa-Kingi’s seat. This is Te Tai Tokerau. So she’s here; she spoke at the forum earlier this morning.
“It will be very interesting to see where the High Court lands when a decision comes out, hopefully in the next few weeks,” Griffiths said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- Labour and the Greens’ show of unity
- Peeni Henare’s shock announcement
- Who is and isn’t there.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
