Northland iwi, Ngāti Rēhia, has advised iwi member David Seymour to forgo his annual visit to Waitangi ahead of the 185th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti.
In a letter written to the ACT Party leader, the iwi said that due to Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, Ngāti Rēhia did not believe his attendance at Waitangi “would be an appropriate decision.”
According to the chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, Kipa Munro, it represents a conflict that Seymour would attend Waitangi celebrations while openly seeking to redefine its principles.
“Kia kaua e haramai ki Waitangi.”
“Kāore anō kia oti ngā mahi mō te pire, mō te pire o Waitangi, ko ia te kaikawe.”
“He aha te take kei te haere mai ki te whakatūkinongia ā-kanohi i a mātou o Ngāpuhi?”
Kua noho mai a Ngāti Rēhia hei whakanenetanga mā te iwi
Kua hē mai nei ngā rā o Ngāti Rēhia i a David Seymour te kī mai a Munro.
I roto i ngā tau, e kaha ana ngā hapū o Ngāpuhi ki te whakahangareka i a Ngāti Rēhia me tā rātou kī, “E Ngāti Rēhia, herea tō koutou nei tamaiti i ēnā momo kōrero.”
“Me mutu tātou te whakahuangia tēnei minita, ko Ngāti Rēhia.”
“E kore tāea e au te kōrero, kāhore koe he Ngāti Rēhia, engari, ngā mahi i mahi nei e ia, ehara nō tērā taha ōnā.”
E kore nei a Seymour e aronui mai, ki tā tōna iwi āki nei i a ia
Ahakoa te reta kua tuhia e Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, auare ake, ka haere tonu a Seymour ki Waitangi i tēnei tau.
Koira tāna ki te ranga kawepūrongo o Local Democracy Reporting i tērā wiki.
Hei tāna, ko te mana o te tangata te mātua, kaua ko te mana o te iwi.
“If the proposition is that being Māori means I have to bow down and follow leadership, then that’s not a very attractive proposition.
“The idea that I have to think the same as every ancestor I have.”
