Waitangi Day: PM won't confirm if he will attend commemorations at Waitangi

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by ACT leader David Seymour (left) and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters (right), being welcomed onto the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi in 2024. Photo / File

• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has not confirmed his attendance at next year’s Waitangi Day commemorations.
• ACT leader David Seymour will attend, while Luxon considers multiple invitations and options.
• Labour leader Chris Hipkins emphasised the importance of prime ministerial representation at the event.

By Lillian Hanly of RNZ

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will not confirm whether he will attend Waitangi Day commemorations in the Northland town next year.

He said he had received “a number of invitations”, but had not yet made a decision.

The national day lands one week after hearings on the Treaty Principles Bill begin, legislation that led to one of the country’s largest hīkoi in opposition.

The Justice Committee plans to hear submissions in the week starting Monday, January 27 and through February.

Act leader David Seymour — the architect of the Bill — has confirmed he will attend the commemorations in Waitangi.

Luxon told reporters not to jump to “any conclusions,” but pointed out he had “a number of iwi invite me to their Waitangi Day celebrations”.

“We’ll get to announcing what we’re doing for Waitangi... in due course.”

Luxon said he would love to visit all the sites where the Treaty was signed, and “make sure it’s a national day across the country”.

“I have historically said on the record that I would also think it’s great to celebrate Waitangi across New Zealand, not just always in Waitangi.”

Luxon said he observed former Prime Minister Bill English visiting Ngāti Whātua instead, and thought that was a “really good example”.

Former Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Helen Clark have also decided to stay away from Waitangi and Te Tii marae in the past over issues around speaking rights.

Luxon did confirm he would attend Rātana celebrations at the end of January.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it would be a “terrible look” if the Prime Minister decided not to go.

Given the “significance” of the day, Hipkins said he thought it was important the “Crown is represented there”.

“Generally that’s the Governor-General and the Prime Minister would represent New Zealand at those events.”

He pointed out that it had been a long time since there had not been that sort of representation.

“There was a period where it wasn’t safe and so on, and I think a lot of work has gone in over the last 10 years or so to make Waitangi Day a celebration of the signing of our nation’s founding document.”

Hipkins said he would be there for as much as he could be “because I think that’s really important for the sense of unity as a country and the commemoration of what is a very significant event for us”.

Hipkins pointed out visiting the place where the document was signed has been an annual tradition for a long time, barring “one or two years where for a variety of reasons” Prime Ministers did not go.

“There’s actually no reason not to go now.”

When it came to visiting other parts of the country for Waitangi celebrations, Hipkins said: “You can do both.”

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.