Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Te Pāti Māori's planned strikes as part of a day of protests this Thursday 'illegal.' Video / Mark Mitchell
Te Pāti Māori leaders are encouraging a strike on Budget Day despite legal warnings.
Major disruptions expected in major cities with marches and vehicle convoys.
PM, Government voices label the strike as illegal and divisive, urging lawful protest methods.
The leaders of the Māori Party are continuing to encourage Māori people to strike on Budget Day tomorrow despite a warning from the Prime Minster that it would be illegal to skip work for a protest.
A campaign group named Toitū Te Tiriti (translatingto ‘the Treaty undisturbed’) confirmed on Monday morning it was planning a strike on Thursday to “demonstrate a unified Aotearoa response to the Government’s assault on tangata whenua (Māori people) and Te Tiriti of Waitangi”.
Te Pāti Māori then urged all Māori to join the strike. The party wrote on social media, “We are being attacked for being Māori. This is what the rangatira revolution is about”.
It would mark the second nationwide protest action Te Pāti Māori supported against the Government and its policies, coming after action on December 5 last year. Māoridom has been critical of moves to remove mention of the Treaty of Waitangi from legislation, disestablish the Māori Health Authority, repeal Labour-introduced smoke-free laws and the Act Party’s bid to redefine the Treaty principles.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi (left) and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer defended a day of protest and continued to urge Māori people to join. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Major disruptions were expected in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with marches and vehicle convoys planned. Protests were also planned for rural towns across the North Island.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon fielded questions from journalists on whether calls to strike on Thursday were appropriate. He said, “No, that’s illegal”.
There were “clear rules” around striking, Luxon said.
“I think [the strike] is wrong - I think that is entirely wrong. Feel free to protest, that’s what we have weekends for. Te Pāti Māori, they’re completely free to protest as long as it’s legal,” he said.
However, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer disagreed with the Prime Minister.
“I don’t think it’s irresponsible to call our people and meet their request for us to call into action,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said there were 'clear rules' around strike actions and said one planned for Thursday would be 'illegal'. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“They [Māori] have had enough, and I don’t know where you want to start, whether .... it’s the way that the Government has been marginalising rainbow communities, our taiao (environment), our tangata (people), our reo (language), where do you want to start?
“The last straw was that we’ve got referendums for Māori wards given a five day-turn around, the [repeal of section] 7AA [from the Oranga Tamariki Act] and the way they’ve [acted with the] Fast Track Approvals Bill where they had no public consultation.
“Our whānau have a right to be heard and be seen, and if us calling them to strike into rise, kei te pai (this is fine),” she said.
The leaders of the Green Party, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, supported the strike and those who would take part.
“I want to focus on the valid anger that people are feeling about how anti-Māori and anti-Tiriti this Government is. We encourage whānau to use their voices as they see fit - but that’s the real focus here, people are angry and want to express their anger,” Davidson said.
Greens co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson. They supported the planned protest and people's motivation to join. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Speaking of the consequences people could face from their employers if they did join the strike, Swarbrick said people were willing to risk this “because of the fact this Government has a fundamental assault on ... te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
Act Party leader and deputy prime minister-in-waiting David Seymour said the protesters did not represent Māori, claiming they represented a small group who only wanted to create racial division. He also criticised organisers’ use of guns in their campaign material and rhetoric that it was a revolution.
“I notice that for all the challenges and problems New Zealand faces, they [protesters] are not providing one solution except everything has to be about race. That is not going to make New Zealand more united and better at problem-solving,” Seymour said.
“What are you doing to make it easier to build a home, to get a good education, to ensure this a country with good healthcare and economic healthcare for the next generation? I haven’t seen anything constructive from these guys.
“How are they helping to make New Zealand a better place? To work and provide for themselves and their families by not going to work in the middle of a cost-of-living and economic crisis?”
Act Party leader David Seymour. He said protesters joining the strike did not represent Māori, instead he believed they were sewing division. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, meanwhile, made a quip about how Te Pāti Māori had “been on strike since the day they started”.
Peters said: “That’s all they think about. They are a disgrace to the former great Māori leadership of this country. Nothing is new about them calling for a strike.”
Opposition and Labour leader Chris Hipkins encouraged people to express their right to free speech but to do so “within the law”.
Labour MP Peeni Henare said he believed protest action was unsurprising given actions the Government had taken, such as disestablishing the Māori Health Authority. Other policies impacting Māori or having provoked a strong response include the repealing of section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act.
Henare said: “Let’s be honest that what’s being lost here... backwards views on Māori policies are what causes this kind of hurt for people so they’ll make their own choice whether or not they get out to support.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
