Wellington mayor Tory Whanau plans to join hīkoi

Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has confirmed she plans to join a hīkoi protesting the government’s Treaty Principles Bill.

Speaking to Nick Mills on NewstalkZB on Tuesday, Whanau said “tens of thousands” of protesters were expected to be in the hīkoi when it got to Wellington next week.

The Wellington city and regional councils, with iwi and police were working on a plan to keep people safe but she did not expect any serious issues.

Government workers may be asked to work from home, she said.

Whanau said she hoped to join the hīkoi and was taking guidance from mana whenua.

The Treaty Principles Bill, which has been advanced by ACT leader David Seymour through his party’s coalition agreement with National, aims to hold a referendum on changing how the Treaty is applied across Government and law through a rewrite of the “Treaty principles”, which have developed over decades to translate the 1840 treaty between the Crown and Māori into the modern constitutional setting.

The Hīkoi mō Te Toriti started at Pōtahi Marae in the far north on Sunday and is due at Parliament grounds in Wellington next Tuesday.