The whawhai is on at Waitangi

Sunday, 4 February 2024

Analysis: Much of the beauty of whaikōrero comes from metaphor, which paints a picture without the need for blunt statements.

But the picture painted on the paepae outside Te Whare Rūnanga on Saturday afternoon was not beautiful, although it was graphic. Opposition MPs from the Green and Labour parties described the governing parties as lions willing to rip the nation apart, spiders coming to plague te ao Māori, taniwhā to be feared, and hoariri - enemies - akin to the red suits of the New Zealand wars who came to kill Māori and steal their taonga.

These speeches, from Labour’s Peeni Henare and Kelvin Davis and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, were unequivocal in their dire assessments about the current state of Crown-Māori relations.

What’s worse for the Government is how warmly mana whenua welcomed these MPs to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon may have been hoping that his Friday trip to Kerikeri, to meet the Iwi Chairs Forum - the most powerful group of Māori leaders in the country - may have started to cool tensions. But the feedback Stuff has heard from that hui, and the pōwhiri for Opposition MPs on Saturday, suggests Luxon and his ministers may have done just the opposite.

There have been no kind words to share about the Government from any iwi leader at that meeting.

The iwi leaders had a long list of concerns to discuss with ministers; closing Te Aka Whai Ora, rewriting Treaty principles, liberalising smoking law, their support for te reo Māori, and their vision for Māori. But Luxon, as he did at Rātana, decided to start talking about school attendance levels.

Some iwi leaders at the hui, which was closed to media, described it as insulting. They saw Luxon’s comments as the Government trying to whakamā - embarrass - Māori to distract from the wider conversations they wanted to have.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was wrong to single out Māori parents, as he talked up his support of “by Māori, for Māori” approaches to social services in Waitangi.

Isiah Apiata was the first to speak for mana whenua during the Opposition pōwhiri. Speaking in te reo, he said he had never seen his people more united than they have been in recent months - as many hapū and Māori organisations have organised to oppose Government reform.

Notably, Apiata and other speakers shared many kind words for a number of Labour and Green MPs. He described Labour’s Willow Jean Prime as the voice for Ngāpuhi and Tai Tokerau in Parliament, now that Kelvin Davis is retiring. It was a significant pronouncement, given on Friday Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka was scolded when he said the Government had arrived in Kerikeri with a representative of Ngāpuhi hapū Ngāti Rēhia, ACT leader David Seymour.

The other Ngāti Rēhia in the room did not see even comedic value in being represented by Seymour.

This has all paved the way for what could be a tense reception when the Government returns to the Far North on Monday. Hipkins labelled the National and ACT travel plans as “fly in, fly out”, using it as ammunition for his argument that the Government wasn’t interested in listening to or building relationships with Māori.

Luxon has repeatedly rejected Labour’s claim, noting he has met with Kiingi Tūheitia multiple times in recent months.

But Saturday’s pōwhiri, and Friday’s troubled meeting, were only the opening act for what could be in store for the Government.

On Sunday, Tūheitia is leading a large delegation - including Te Pāti Māori - to the Treaty Grounds.

And on Waitangi Day, a large hīkoi - with potentially another few thousand people - is expected to arrive. The hīkoi is making its way from Cape Reinga.

It’s been years since large hīkoi have aimed for Waitangi, and it is extremely rare for the Kiingitanga to formally attend Waitangi celebrations in Waitangi.

The Kiingitanga would typically mark the day on its own tūrangawaewae (at its own home), but has instead asked its followers and supporters to arrive en masse to show the seriousness of its concerns with the Government.

Saturday’s discussion sounded like allies forming on the marae ātea, sharing whakapapa connections and stories of war and savage animals. Both sides spoke about the never ending “whawhai”, with jokes Ngāpuhi was always ready for a fight.

Sunday will see one of the most revered Māori institutions, the Kiingitanga, flex its muscles. And then the Government will arrive for one night.

The whawhai - the fight - is on.