Kīngitanga to come to Tuahiwi for third hui ā motu

Friday, 20 September 2024

Tuahiwi will welcome the new queen of the Kīngitanga to North Canterbury next month as the third hui ā motu is held to discuss the challenges facing te ao Māori under the coalition Government.

Following the death of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero te Tuawhitu in August, his successor and daughter Te Arikinui Kuīni Nga wai hono i te po will travel to Te Waipounamu (the South Island) for Te Pūnuiotoka, one of her first public engagements as leader of the Kīngitanga.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe) said the hui, hosted by Ngāi Tūāhuriri at Tuahiwi Marae, was significant, and would focus on moving the nation forward and protecting the rangatiratanga, self determination, of iwi and hapū.

“When we face issues of such as scale and a significance impacting all Māori, all iwi and all hapori (communities), it’s really important that Māori can come together,” Tipa said.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented level of unity within Māoridom that is a response to the rhetoric, and decisive and retrograde legislation and kōrero coming out of parliament.

“While we’re isolated down here in Te Waipounamu and we may not be as visibly active compared to other iwi in the North, we’re absolutely standing shoulder to shoulder with iwi Māori at this time.”

The first hui ā motu, or national hui, was held in January after Kīngi Tūheitia called for kotahitanga, or unity, from te ao Māori to discuss the concerns of the coalition Government’s position regarding Te Tiriti o Waitiangi and the threat against tino rangatiratanga, or self determination.

Kīngi Tūheitia brought iwi and Māori from across the motu together at the first hui ā motu in January at the home of the Kīngitanga movement in Ngāruawāhia at Tūrangawaewae Marae, and again in May at Ōmāhu Marae in the takiwā of Ngāti Kahungunu.

Discussions included - but were not limited to - the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill, enforcing mandatory provisional polls on Māori wards and constituencies, the English-first policy for government agencies names and communications - except for Kāinga ora and Oranga Tamariki, and attempting to remove treaty obligations from the Oranga Tamariki Act.

Tipa said the actions of ACT Party leader David Seymour were a direct attack on rangatiratanga.

“Rangatiratanga belongs to iwi and hapū. It is about responsibility and service. It’s our opportunity to own the problems that we face in our communities and to have a genuine stake in contributing to these solutions.

“We shouldn’t be debating what rangatiratanga is, we should instead be having a conversation on how it can take us into the future.”

Ngāi Tahu has historical and contemporary connections with Te Kīngatanga, Tipa said.

A Ngāi Tahu rangaitira Taiaroa was in Taupō at the hui that conferred Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as the first king and a strong connections had remained throughout the years.

The hui was expected to take place in late October.