Waitangi Day: Next year will be different, elders vow

By CLAIRE TREVETT and RUTH BERRY

Ngapuhi elders have vowed next year will be different after violence, abuse and mud slinging again marred New Zealand's national celebrations at Waitangi.

The day after Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party leader Don Brash were abused on the Te Tii Waitangi Marae, Waitangi Day was marred by more violence on the Treaty House grounds.

Two people were arrested yesterday, including one who was hauled into the police cordon around the flagstaff and bitten by a police dog.

The other was Arthur Harawira, son of veteran Maori activist Titewhai Harawira, who escorted Helen Clark onto the Te Tii marae on Thursday.

Both arrested men were charged with disorderly behaviour and are due to appear in Kaikohe District Court on Monday.

But the treatment on the Te Tii marae of the Prime Minister, who was caught in a crush of protesters, and Dr Brash, who was hit in the face with a clump of mud, has incensed many Ngapuhi elders, who said it was a bad breach of marae protocol.

They said visitors should be welcomed on to the marae and only after the welcome concluded should disputes be aired.

Ngapuhi elder Rudy Taylor said kaumatua were very unhappy at the way visitors were treated.

"Things will be different next year. That is all I will say, things will be different," he said.

Mr Taylor refused to elaborate on how the trouble would be cleaned up, but after the violence and abuse directed at Helen Clark and Dr Brash, Tai Tokerau MP Dover Samuels said Ngapuhi had to "get its bloody act together" to sort out the problem of marae violence.

He was reminded he had said the same thing last year and the year before.

Later, he said the protest against Helen Clark over her proposed foreshore and seabed legislation and against Dr Brash after a speech announcing Maori would lose some standing if National became the Government, was one of the most controversial in years.

"It wasn't just against politicians. It was aggro against a lot of people. I was disappointed there was intimidation and threats made."

The Prime Minister and Titewhai Harawira both played down the marae violence.

Helen Clark said she did not feel threatened as she was pushed and shoved while walking in and out of the Te Tii meeting house.

Mrs Harawira said the Prime Minister was safe with her and there was no intimidation.

"What planet was she on?" an angry Mr Samuels said.

Mrs Harawira's contention that it was Ngapuhi's right to do what it liked on its own marae even if that meant badly treating guests was " cultural crap".

He said some elders now refused to go to the marae on Waitangi Day because of the violence.

Helen Clark said she sympathised with Ngapuhi elders.

"It is not what they wished when they said to people to come and be welcomed. We just need to keep talking to them about how to ensure that the traditional hospitality of Ngapuhi can be honoured," she said.

Among the visitors, Andrei Walker had travelled from Auckland for the discussions on the seabed and foreshore.

"I've always heard how wrong things happened 150 years ago and people say it was not our fault," he said. "But this is something we can do something about and try to stop it.

Trisha Netana, of Tainui iwi, said going to Waitangi Day ceremonies was the only time of the year when Maori were the majority.

"It energises you. I think New Zealand is at an exciting time for Maori. We are throwing the chips up into the air and watching to see where they land."

Meanwhile, the MP set to chair an inquiry into foreshore and seabed legislation says further talks may be pointless if Maori continue to take an "hysterical" approach to the issue.

Napier MP Russell Fairbrother's comments are likely to fuel scepticism about the Government's approach and the value of a select committee inquiry.

He said none of the leaders who spoke to MPs at Te Tii marae had revealed "any understanding of what the initiatives are about".

Maori leaders at two of the Government-run foreshore and seabed hui had displayed similar misunderstandings, he said.

"They don't leave us much option if they are going to take an hysterical approach to the issue. If we can't dialogue [properly] then we will just have to get on with it."

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia also raised concerns about the "negativities and victimisation" being promulgated by some Maori leaders and the nature of the protest.

"Many rangatahi [youth] today were sad about what happened. We have to think about what we are teaching our kids ... [in terms of] tikanga, manners and values."

Hone Harawira, who co-ordinated an open forum at Te Tii which discussed the issue and was one of three speakers in the discussions with the Government, rejected the criticisms.

He said two of the home speeches were in Maori and the MP was not getting translations and wouldn't have understood them.

His speech was in English and if Mr Fairbrother had concerns he should have responded.

He said Mr Fairbrother was ignorant and "simply didn't like what I said".

The forum agreed the foreshore debate had "revived the whole issue of Aotearoa being Maori land and our role as kaitiaki".

Another key issue was the disillusionment with the Labour Party's "betrayal".

Mr Harawira said he could have contained the protest on Thursday, but chose not to because the Government deserved it.

Events at Waitangi were much more relaxed yesterday, although Dr Brash faced heavy flak for his treatment of MP Georgina te Heuheu.

Most of the kaumatua speaking at the service also criticised Dr Brash for "playing games" with the treaty.

Tom Te Maro said the decision to strip the MP, from the esteemed te Heuheu family, of her portfolios had "cut right through the heart of Maoridom".