Waikato-Tainui take Government to high court
Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Waikato-Tainui has filed proceedings in the High Court in Wellington seeking declarations from the Crown to affirm the rights and interests of the iwi.
Executive Chairperson Tukoroirangi Morgan said they were concerned about statements made by ministers within Cabinet and others within the government regarding te reo Māori, the Treaty of Waitangi and other issues that “are in direct conflict with the Crown’s commitments and related obligations to Waikato-Tainui.”
“We do this to protect what has been hard-fought, as we will not have the rights and interests of Waikato-Tainui or the relationship between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown undermined,” Morgan added.
Morgan likened the move to an aukati (a line not to be crossed) set by the first Māori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero in 1863 to deter an invasion of the Waikato by colonial troops. War ensued when Governor Grey ignored the boundary, and millions of acres of Waikato-Tainui land was confiscated.
Morgan said they would welcome a meeting with the Prime Minister and his cabinet to discuss their issues.
“Together we must resolve these issues that lie before us through direct engagement and agreement, without further advancing the proceeding before the Court.”
The Kīngitanga is calling a national hui for Māori to unite as the new coalition government could “undermine decades of hard-fought justice and equality for our nation”.
Kīngi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, in a statement to te iwi Māori, said many Māori were “concerned about the plans of the new Coalition Government”. It has issued Te Paki o Matariki (a Royal Proclamation) calling for the national hui.
Tauranga-based iwi Ngai Te Rangi has also made an urgent claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, accusing the government of attacking Māori culture and language.
The settlement trust says the National-ACT-NZ First coalition is breaching Article 2 of the Treaty by failing to protect te reo Māori.
Trust chairperson Charlie Tawhiao said the breaches included the government taking advice on how to stop paying extra to any more public servants who are fluent in te reo, and instructing departments to use their English rather than Māori names.