Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer on hīkoi arriving at Parliament today - The Front Page

Hikoi participants march in Hamilton on day four of a journey to Wellington to protest various issues impacting Maori including the Act Party’s Treaty Principles Bill. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mike Scott 14 November, 2024

The hīkoi promising to “kill the Bill” will reach the Beehive today - just days after the haka heard around the world.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected on Parliament grounds after marching from Cape Reinga in what some have coined the “biggest protest in living memory”.

It’s all in a bid to take a stand against the Treaty Principles Bill, which was introduced to the House last week and garnered global attention for the haka begun by New Zealand’s youngest MP, Te Pāti Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke.

The 22-year-old tore up a copy of the bill before throwing the pieces on the ground.

Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told The Front Page the fact it was so easy to tear up those few pages shows they have no significance.

“It was pre-planned and also to show the world, look at what we’ve been relegated to: These thin pieces of paper that were so easily ripped by our youngest member.

“I think what we have is that we are inter-generational connected. We’ve got all different roles because we are real people. But, the reality is, that it’s going to be Hana’s generation, 70% of our population are under the age of 40, that are going to have to try and rebalance this.

“This younger generation is just phenomenal. I’m proud every day,” she said.

Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora, ka ora! pic.twitter.com/ywsqhp5oDu

— Te Pāti Māori (@Maori_Party) November 14, 2024

The overwhelming support the hīkoi has received along the way from people from all walks of life has been humbling, Ngarewa-Packer said.

“I think what’s really important is the passive way of doing hīkoi and activism is very Māori. The only incident I saw was two sisters fighting over who was going to be on the left or right side of a selfie with me."

Around 30,000 people are expected at Parliament today - a larger crowd than the controversial 2022 anti-lockdown and anti-mandate occupation which ended in violent clashes between protesters and police.

Authorities have warned the public of “widespread disruption” when the hīkoi arrives and key roads are expected to be jammed.

Ngarewa-Packer doesn’t expect there to be any real incidents “other than getting the message across” and continuing with the “beautiful spirit of unity”.

While National and New Zealand First have made it clear they’re leaving their junior coalition partner in the dust when it comes to the second reading, Ngarewa-Packer said even allowing it to be tabled is a “deep shame”.

“We deserve better than to be used as political pawns.

“The fact that National has decided that we were tradeable and the mana of the coalition agreement was so much more important than the mana of Te Tiriti and tāngata is the deepest betrayal that we’ve ever had from a National government.

“We’re a country that had the first women’s vote, we have always punched above our weight in the anti-nuclear space, the anti-discrimination space, and here we are in 2024 with the sort of [Donald] Trump-like culture coming into our politics,” she said.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about what lead to the hīkoi and why Māoridom feels betrayed.

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.

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