Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi is today repeating his calls for the establishment of a Māori Parliament, as Northland iwi Ngāpuhi prepares for the Government to arrive at Waitangi.
Te Pāti Māori, Rātana and the Kīngitanga all rose to the recent challenge laid down by NZ First’s Shane Jones by coming to Waitangi marae Te Whare Rūnanga to discuss the Government’s approach to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Members of the three groups, numbering many hundreds, faced an emphatic welcome by Ngāpuhi’s warriors which hundreds came to watch. It completely dwarfed Saturday’s pōwhiri for Labour and the Green Party.
The main kōrero centred around the need for unity, to remain steadfast in the face of challenges to te ao Māori and an opposition to some of the new Government’s actions.
However, it was those who weren’t there who got considerable attention, namely Shane Jones and Act leader David Seymour.
At Rātana celebrations last month, Jones - who hails from Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) - responded to those criticising the Government’s policies regarding New Zealand’s founding document by stating talk of the Treaty was most appropriate at its birthplace of Waitangi and implored those in the crowd to attend the February 6 celebrations.
Te Taepa Kameta, a representative of the Rātana leader, gave the large crowd a brief laugh by poking fun at Jones and NZ First leader Winston Peters, who would be at Waitangi tomorrow alongside the rest of the Government.
Kameta cheekily asked: “Shane, where are you?”
Many laughed and some clapped. “I am at your house and you are not here.”
Image 1 of 13: Kiingi Tuheitia sitting at the mahou at the Waitangi Treaty House whare, sitting beside Dame Naida Glavish. Photo / Angus Dreaver for RNZ
It was clear the comment was meant partially in jest as Kameta added: “Shane and Winston, I still love you.”
Waititi echoed this when he proclaimed his party had answered Jones’ call.
The other absentee who was regularly referenced was Seymour, the architect of the Treaty Principles Bill which aimed to redefine the Treaty’s principles - a proposal which had helped inflame Māori opposition to the Government.
Waititi appealed to the leader of Seymour’s hapū Kipa Munro to “fix” his Ngāti Rēhia whanaunga (relative).
“Kipa, I will leave you to fix your person.
“Outside the House you may fix your person, but in the House, leave him for me and Peeni [Henare, Labour MP] to fix him,” he said to laughs.
However, like many other speakers, he did acknowledge Seymour’s Māori whakapapa (ancestry) and noted how it was Seymour who had driven this most recent unity in Māoridom.
Waititi’s primary message to Ngāpuhi was to advocate for Māori self-governance.
“It is for us to govern ourselves,” Waititi declared.
“What is the greatest gift we can give to our grandchildren, it is unity, therefore we must govern ourselves.”
“Let’s stand up our Māori Parliament.”
During the pōwhiri which lasted almost three hours, representatives of various iwi from across the country had their time to speak on the ātea (marae courtyard) with many reflecting calls for unity and strength in the face of perceived threats to the Treaty.
Ngāti Kahungunu leader Bayden Barber also spoke of the importance of discussing the Treaty at Waitangi.
“We have come here to fight, we have come here to share thoughts and strategies with you Ngāpuhi on how we move forward.
“Unite, unite, for we must be united. Remain steadfast te iwi Māori.”
He said if the Government thought it could push Māori down, it had another thing coming.
Many responded to the kōrero from Ngāpuhi rangatira Hone Sadler who said the Government’s arrival tomorrow should be met with peace paired with resilience.
“Don’t fight the wrongs with the wrongs,” he said.
“Even though we are upset and angry, never meet anger with anger.
“Let us remain peaceful, humble but don’t let us drop our guard.”
Earlier, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer arrived with a strong message for the Government calling it a “three-headed taniwha”.
Asked why the party had not joined the other members of the Opposition in the official pōwhiri yesterday, Ngarewa-Packer said her party was fundamentally a part of Mana Motuhake - the united movement of Māori.
“We are not a subset of Labour,” she added.
Waititi added: “Māori have been in opposition since 1840. Not so long ago Labour didn’t want us, we were the party no one wants, so we’re standing with Mana Motuhake so we can just be us.”
Ngarewa-Packer said the key for Te Pāti Māori today was that the party “must stand where the call for unity and righteous anger belongs”.
The party’s absence from yesterday’s welcome for the Labour and the Greens was referenced by several speakers including Kelvin Davis who said he was disappointed the full Opposition hadn’t joined together.
Te Pāti Māori argued it was distinct from other political parties and felt it more appropriate to walk onto Te Whare Rūnanga alongside the Māori King, which they did at Rātana last month.
Today’s crowd was significantly larger to the one that witnessed Labour leader Chris Hipkins pledge to support Ngāpuhi in its opposition to the Government’s agenda on Māori issues.
Hipkins and his MPs made the commitment alongside warnings of “spiders” and a “den of lions” approaching - a reference to the Government’s scheduled arrival at the marae on Monday.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.