After a long reprieve, politics returns to Waitangi

Wednesday, 5 February 2020

ANALYSIS: Waitangi is pure political theatre, although we're meant to pretend it's not.

Who is sitting next to whom matters, as does who gets to speak and when. The movements and inflections of politicians are scrutinised the same way Kremlinologists once pored over footage of Soviet parades.

There have been moves to depoliticse the event in recent years. Things boiled over in 2016 when then-Prime Minister John Key was refused speaking rights. He refused to attend, celebrating elsewhere.

Bill English also skipped celebrations when it was his turn to come as Prime Minister in 2017. He met iwi leaders, but missed the powhiri.

**READ MORE:

* Jacinda Ardern had a great Waitangi last year - will she repeat the trick?

* 'Sit down and shut up': Tini Molyneux on the men who ramble on marae

* New Treaty office suggested, likely to be established**

Later that year, the move was made to shift proceedings from the fractious lower marae, Te Tii, to the Te Whare Rūnanga, the upper marae. This was where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had her first Waitangi as Prime Minister in 2018.

Ardern also opted for a longer stay in Waitangi, spending almost all of the week there. She also tried to depoliticse the event, hosting a fairly relaxed barbeque on the day itself.

Depoliticisation by politicians of course is itself political. It's a sign they think people are ready for a less contentious national celebration. But depoliticising too much comes at the cost of a Prime Minister's mana, and their ability to appear stately. You can depoliticise, but you don't want to look like you're shirking.

Ardern appears to have found the right balance. She's committed to returning to Waitangi each year she is Prime Minister, even if proceedings are moved back to Te Tii, where they threaten to look ugly. This year, as is tradition, she walked onto the Treaty Grounds with Titewhai Harawira, the woman who once made Ardern's former boss, Helen Clark, cry.

But this year, the politics of depoliticisation appear to have themselves tipped in the other direction, with more overt politicking the order of the day.

Simon Bridges appeared to fall afoul of tikanga, provoking some chatter on the paepae about the poor advice he must have been given ahead of Waitangi.

Tikanga, or Māori traditional customs and practices are crucial at events like this. It's important to get them right.

On Tuesday, political leaders were welcomed onto the marae for their annual powhiri. The party leaders standing shoulder to shoulder as they were welcomed onto the upper marae at the powhiri for politicians.

Ardern held Harawira's hand as is tradition. But Harawira, now in a wheelchair, meant the politicians had to walk slowly if they all wanted to stay in line.

Bridges and his contingent of National party MPs, who were walking to the right of Ardern, crept ahead, breaking the formation and overtaking Harawira and the Prime Minister.

James Shaw was awkwardly caught between Bridges and the main group. The Prime Minister gestured for him to pull back. It was too late - tikanga had been breached, a fact not lost on observers.

Things got worse on the paepae, when Bridges used his speech to attack the Government's record on Māori issues, and its 'year of delivery'. Repeating a message he first used at Ratana this year, he told leaders they might not always like what he has to say, but that they know he'll deliver on it.

He then spoke about Northland specific issues, including the four lane expressway National planned to build.

It ruffled feathers. Waitangi is of course a political event, but it's political in the broader, nation building sense. It's not the place for wonkish attacks on the Government.

Bridges speech was described as 'pokanoa,' which comes from the verb 'to trample,' meaning he tramped over some of the tikanga.

Government ministers and officials decried Bridges' politicisation of the powhiri. Green Party co-leader James Shaw said it was not the place for 'petty partisan politics', while Peters said he was 'seriously concerned about the politicisation' of the powhiri.

Waitangi puts the opposition in an impossible position.The Government enjoys an incumbent advantage. It can be political whilst claiming to be getting on with the business of governing. All the opposition can do is sit back and watch.

The Government itself made some very political moves at Waitangi. On Sunday it announced how $30 million of Provincial Growth Fund money had been spent, alongside major Māori land reforms.

On Monday it announced an $800,000 conservation initiative and on Tuesday, mere hours after Peters decried the politicisation of Waitangi, Minister Kelvin Davis announced a programme to develop Māori leaders.

But attendant Māori seemed to side with the Government, saying Bridges had gone too far.

His poor performance was palpable, with chatter on the paepae focusing on just how bad it was. Even some in the National party were embarrassed.

Talk quickly moved to the quality of Bridges' advice. Tikanga is complex - and politicians of all sides make mistakes, but earnest effort goes along way. Andrew Little, for example, gave his speech in Te Reo - it was far from fluent, taking almost eight minutes for what amounted to a single page of speech, but it was hailed as a 'breakthrough' by some Ngapuhi.

Bridges, by contrast, messed up the walk to the marae, and made no effort in his pronunciation, sometimes provoking a visible cringe. When speaking te reo, he checked his notes frequently, having not committed his brief speeches to memory. 

The argument could be made that Bridges, who is himself Māori , should be able to pronounce things how he likes, but leaders wanted him to make more of an effort at Waitangi.

In a response to the politicians, one attendee said he reserved his 'harshest criticism' for Bridges.

'You have some distance to go crossing the bridge [but] you belong in our hearts and minds. You are whanaunga [kindred] because of who you are,' he said.

Some questioned whether Bridges' misstep was due to the lack of quality advice. During the Key years, Hekia Parata was known to provide the Government frontbench with advice on how things were done.

In recent years, this advice came from MPs like Nuk Korako, who resigned just last year amid rumours he hwsa unhappy being whipped to vote against a Labour member's bill which would have given Ngāi Tahu permanent representation on Environment Canterbury.

It's also been suggested Bridges was quite happy with how his performance was perceived -- he was reportedly in good spirits hearing about the first media takes while meeting with Iwi leaders later that day.

After ruling out NZ First, Bridges needs to make a full-throated pitch to win 47-48 per cent of the vote. That means pitching the powhiri speech to the audience at home, rather than on the paepae.

It's a high risk strategy. There may not be many votes on the paepae and there's a solid constituency in taking a bullish approach to issues surrounding Māori and the Treaty, but as the 2005 election showed, that constituency has a ceiling.

Key and English had greater success with a more conciliatory approach, netting National 47 per cent of the vote in two consecutive elections.

Knowing which audience to play to is a tough decision for Bridges, but it's something he'll have to get used to.

Coalition governments formed of several parties can be something to everyone, like the current liberal, centrist, libereal-progressive government. Trying to win on its own, as National has done means Bridges has no such luxury. The election campaign will be full of similar margin calls. To win, Bridges will need to consistently call them right.

Meanwhile, Waitangi itself is changing. There's chatter of returning things to Te Tii, although that seems far off.