Te Arataura chair Tuku Morgan has challenged the coalition government in what he called “the opening chorus” of the event.
Government politicians arrived at the annual koroneihana to deliver their speeches but with the notable absence of ACT, which became a point of conversation.
Morgan criticised the coalition government for undermining Māori rights and identity, urging Prime Minister Luxon to reject the Treaty Principles Bill and for Māori to unite.
“Prime Minister, your coalition partner David Seymour can run and hide,” Tuku Morgan said. “ACT wants to take away the Treaty of Waitangi and replace it with a Treaty Principles Bill.”
He said ACT wanted to take away Treaty rights, Māori voices, reo, identity and tino rangatiratanga.
“ACT wants to assimilate us into a monocultural society,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the ACT party used Hobson Pledge as their attack dog which represents the underbelly of racism in Aotearoa.
To conclude his kōrero, Morgan said to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon: “Today we seek your assurance that this Treaty Principles Bill will only go as far as the first reading and we urge you to make that declaration today.”
He went on to say the same to Winston Peters and to make his stance clear.
Morgan recalled the day 29 years ago on the May 22 when National Prime Minister Jim Bolger went to Tūrangawaewae marae to sign the first settlement in the country - the historic Raupatu Settlement.
He said they “knew” the agreement would be honoured but went on to discuss the demolition of Māori policy and Māori achievement and the rolling back of 50 years of iwi-Crown relations.
“Te reo Māori marginalised,” he said and in that instant the rain began to fall heavily. Nevertheless he went on to list the losses including the repeal of section 7AA of Oranga Tamariki, Māori wards, the Māori Health Authority and seabed and foreshore legislation.
He said the government had turned its back on the Māori who believed there was honour in the Crown.
Morgan emphasised they wanted to send a clear message: “We will not go quietly into the night.”
“As our old people have said at Orākau; ka whawhai tonu mātou, ake, ake, ake.”
Morgan said ACT thinks it will homogenise Māori into one society but he affirmed: “We are not going back to the 1800s.”
There were close to a million Māori, and every third person under the age of 25 was Māori, he said. “We will never be denied.”
He said Māori had been thrown under the bus and run over, and that things looked despairing and grim for Māori people.
“Your ears are deaf to our people.”
Morgan sent a message to all iwi across Aotearoa, “We must unite” and said the message from Kiingi Tūheitia was the same and that Māori had to get strategically political and determine the face of the next government.
