Te Pāti Māori protest plans to cause major disruptions on Thursday
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has slammed plans for a day of disruption launched by Te Pāti Māori as “illegal”.
Te Pāti Māori is urging all Māori to go on strike on Thursday and participate in protest action across the country.
The Toitū Te Tiriti National Day of Action protesters will be participating in “carkois” which entails driving slowly across roadways to disrupt traffic flow at peak times.
Te Pāti Māori encouraged all Māori to leave work and attend the hīkoi near their location.
Luxon will face questions from Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer at the start of Question Time today as Te Pāti Māori urge people to join the protest against the Government’s actions.
The Herald will live-stream Question Time at the top of this article.
Asked whether the calls for strike action on Budget Day as part of the nationwide activation were appropriate, Luxon said: “No, that would be illegal.
”I think that 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.
”It’s pretty clear what the rules are around strike action and I would suggest to you that’s not one of them.”
Meanwhile, Labour MP Peeni Henare said the protest action was unsurprising given actions the coalition Government had taken, such as disestablishing the Māori Health Authority.
”I don’t know why anybody would be surprised.”
Participating in the protest was “up to each and every individual”, he said.
”But 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.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said any strike action needed to be within the confines of the law.
”But if people want to engage in their right to free speech, of course I encourage them to do that but I encourage them to do that within the law.”
In Auckland, protesters will meet at locations near motorway on-ramps, north, south and west of the city at 6.30am.
Te Pāti Māori shared on social media that this is a “rangatira revolution”.
“We are being attacked for being Māori,” Te Pāti Māori wrote.
Traffic is expected to be gridlocked with protests planned on Auckland’s motorway network, and marches and convoys slated for other key transport points around the country.
Protests are planned for the following areas on Thursday,
Second day of disruption
Te Pāti Māori protests brought peak-hour traffic to a standstill last December in a similar event also organised by Te Pāti Māori.
Police say an estimated 300 cars joined the Auckland protest, which was “peaceful and the vast majority of groups dispersed relatively quickly”.
In Wellington, 1000 protesters gathered on Parliament grounds, where Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer addressed the crowd.
The convoys gathered about 7am in several cities and at traffic pressure points including near Auckland’s Northern Motorway at the Palmers Albany Garden Centre, near the Upper Harbour Motorway on Brigham Creek and Hobsonville Rds, and near the Southern Motorway at BP Bombay.
Further south, the Waikato Expressway suffered a 3km backlog after being blocked by about 50 cars. This had a “significant impact on traffic”, police said.
Hamilton, Whakatāne, Rotorua, Tokoroa, Taupō and Palmerston North also held gatherings of about 100 people each, with minimal disruption.