Hei te ata nei, pōhiritia ai ngā Mema Pāremata ki ngā papa o Waitangi heoi, e kore te Pirimia, a Christopher Luxon, e haere.
Parliamentarians will be officially welcomed to the Waitangi grounds this morning with the country’s leader, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon opting out of the Waitangi celebrations in the North for the South, to Ōnuku Marae in Akaroa with Ngāi Tahu.
That decision has caused a mixed reaction by Iwi leaders in Waitangi given Luxon’s coalition government’s turbulent year of Māori-Crown issues, with the most recent Treaty Principles bill headed by Act leader David Seymour.
Iwi Chairs Forum host Te Rarawa spokesperson Katie Murray told Te Ao Māori News, “He’s the leader of our country. It’s like [marriage] - for better or for worse. He’s stuck with us and we’re stuck with him.
“He chose to be somewhere else on this auspicious Taitokerau motu kind of celebration, and so kia ora to him for choosing that. That in no way has detracted from the enjoyment that Māori have coming here to Waitangi and commemorating the signing of the Treaty but celebrating who we are together,” says Murray.
Pou Tangata Iwi Chair Rahui Papa told Te Ao Māori News he isn’t bothered about Luxon not being present, but he’d rather see concrete evidence behind some of their decision-making.
Hei tā Papa, “Kāre nei he aha ki a au, ko te mea nui ko te whakaopeti i te iwi Māori ki te kōkiri i tō mātau huarahi.”
“It doesn’t matter to me; the most important thing is uniting the Māori people to advance our own path.”
“Ko te painga atu mehemea kei konei te pirimia ki te whakarongo ā-taringa ake nei ki ngā kaupapa me ngā nawe a te iwi Māori, heoi anō i te kore o tērā, kua wātea mātau i ētehi wā ki te whakatakoto i ngā kōrero ki tōna aroaro, otirā ki te aroaro o tōna kāwanatanga e pā ana ki ngā kaupapa e hiato ana i te ngākau o te iwi Māori.”
“It would be better if the Prime Minister were here to listen firsthand to the issues and concerns of the Māori people. However, in the absence of that, we have at times had the opportunity to present our perspectives before them and their government regarding the matters that weigh heavily on the hearts of the Māori people.”
“Ko te āhuatanga ki te pirimia o te wā nei, i roto i ngā whakatumatuma ki te ao Māori he pai kē ake ki a au mehemea i whai tuarā kia whakakanohi i ā rātau whakatau.”
“As for the current Prime Minister, in the face of challenges to the Māori world, I would prefer if they had the support to stand by and represent their decisions.”
Councillor Representative for Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, says no matter where he goes in our country, Māori will be right there advocating for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“Horekau he raru ki a au, he aha tana kōrero ki a mātau? Tēnā pea he tangata kare [e] hiahia te teka. Engari i rongo mātau i te rā nei, ka haere ia ki Otepoti, Otautahi ki Te Waipounamu, and kei reira rātau e tatari ana.
“There’s no issue for me, but what did he say to us? Maybe he’s someone who doesn’t want to lie. But today, we heard that he’s going to Dunedin, Christchurch, to the South Island, and they are waiting there.
“Ahakoa ka haere ia ki hea, kei reira te reo o Ngāi Māori e akiaki ana mō te Tiriti.”
“No matter where he goes, the voice of Māori is there, urging for the Treaty.”
Labour Party leader on the waters at Waitangi
In contrast, opposition party leader Chris Hipkins was already seen on the waters around Paihia, paddling and mingling with the crew from Ngātokimatawhaorua. Spokesperson Albert Cash says it’s a relationship built over the years.
“Ko roto i Te Pāti Reipa ō mātou ake whanaunga e noho ana ki roto i taua kāhui, nā reira ko te hononga whanaungatanga tēnei ō rātou hei wāwāhi mai ērā hunga ki runga i ō tātou nei waka. Anō nei, kia noho tahi te teina me te tuakana i raro i te whakaaro kotahi, ko te kaupapa waka hei whakakotahi te iwi.”
“Within the Labour Party, we have our own relatives who are part of that group, so their familial connections serve as a way to bring people onto our waka (canoe, or shared journey). It is as if the younger and older siblings are coming together under one shared vision—the waka as a means to unite the people.”
Cash says the cultural waka preparations leading up to Waitangi celebrations are intergenerational, and this year there are various tribal waka coming from across the country to be at this year’s event.
“Tērā pāti Nāhinara te kuhu mai ki ēnei whakaritenga me ngā tū whai āhuaranga pēnei i Te Pāti a Reipa, koia ana mā runga i ēnei waka. Ko te tūmanako ka whakapiri mai e rātou kāhore he tangata, kāore mātou i te whakawewehe ake i ērā wāhanga ko te tūmanako kia whakakotahi ai tātou ngā iwi o Te Tai Tokerau, whakakotahi tonu i ngā iwi o te motu, anō nei, kia whakakotahi ai ko ngā huinga tāngata o te motu ki runga i tō tātou nei whenua.”
“The National Party has recently joined these arrangements and participated in initiatives like the Labour Party, thus engaging in this waka culture. The hope is that they (the National Party) come together with no divisions—we are not trying to separate these groups. Instead, we hope to unite the people of Te Tai Tokerau, to unite the people of the nation, and ultimately, to bring all the different groups of people together on this land of ours.”
Despite Luxon’s absence at Waitangi, members of his caucus will be in attendance.
The pōwhiri for Parliamentarians will commence today at 11 am,
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