Rohe supports Māori National Day of Action

WHĀNAU have supported the Māori National Day of Action on Tuesday with peaceful protests across the rohe and many locals travelling up to Kirikiriroa.

The day signalled to the new Government that Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori health and the revitalisation of te reo Māori must all remain priorities in Aotearoa.

Those travelling to Hamilton to larger protests included staff from the Kōkiri Trust and the Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust.

Staff and tauira – students – at Te Wharekura o Maniapoto, in Oparure met at the school gates to greet tractors, trucks and cars.

In an atmosphere of concern around the future under the current Government, everyone at the kura showed their support for the overall kaupapa, from the youngest tamariki to school kaumātua Muri Turner and Tiki Koroheke. Students sung waiata including He Kakano Ahau (I am a Seed) to express their support for te reo Rangatira – the Maōri language and waved flags and banners.

Teacher Hine Stewart-Waenga was concerned about the Government moving away from the use of te reo Māori in official documents, and its wider implications.

“They’re looking at wiping all the translations; it seems a bit one-sided to me.”

“Me noho kotahi – we need to come together and work together as one, not as separate entities.”

As part of the curriculum, students at Te Wharekura o Maniapoto had learned about Te Tiriti and its history. So, the rangatahi joined the protest with a good understanding of the issues.

“We have shown the students a documentary called Te Tiriti o Waitangi – What Really Happened. We also talked about the Declaration of Independence in 1835. They have an idea of the difference between the two.

“They also have knowledge that the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi are two different things.”

Hine said the school disagreed with the direction signalled by members of the Government when it came to health, culture, and indigenous tikanga and protocols.

“The proposed policies don’t help us at all,” she said.

Year 10 student Apakura Motuhinau was among the protest’s young supporters at the school.

“I’m keen on protesting today, to fight for our rights and our land, for us to keep Te Tiriti, and fighting for my iwi and my whānau.

“Our ancestors signed the treaty for different reasons. But they were signing two different things, and it’s not right. It was a set-up.”

Then there was a one-man show of support in Piopio, with local Bill Wana protesting outside Tyrepower with a sign reading “National Māori Action Day”.

Quoting ‘Uncle Bob” (Marley), his comment was: “Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight.”

Former foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta also shared her thoughts with King Country News on the Māori National Day of Action.

“Māori who have rallied together are making an affirmative statement, about ensuring that those things that are important to Māori: the culture, language and the Treaty of Waitangi – that all those things remain at the forefront.

“For whānau within Te Rohe Pōtae, Maniapoto, Te Nehenehenui: the aspiration of mana motuhake is a very strong one.”

She was concerned that the policies that had previously been promoted by the three coalition partners individually would take New Zealand backwards.

“It’s hard to tell because Parliament is just starting today – obviously the 100-day plan will be very indicative of their intent.

“This is at the front end of the Government establishing itself.

“There’s been a lot of media messaging around what might happen, but we really have to wait and see in terms of what actually happens.

“Because the reality of politics is that you’ve got to not only have the numbers in the House, but also persuade public opinion, that this is a good thing to do.

“Take, for example, the directive of a minister to his ministry to use the English name of his department, Waka Kotahi. First, it’s going to cost us; there’s going to be a big rebranding exercise.

“Then the public will say, well, do you pay for the rebranding of these signs, or do you put that into cost of living?

“I would have thought broad public opinion would say, spend the money on where it’s needed, at a time when we have a cost-of-living crisis.”

At best, it was possible for the current political situation to lead to a positive and constructive public conversation, Nanaia said.

“I think where this ultimately will go is, it will push harder and faster on a bigger conversation around the future of our country, and what this nation would look like.

“You can’t take away the treaty.

“It might even provide fertile ground for the big question of, ‘are we ready to become a republic?’ Because that might actually be the legitimate future, for us all to discuss in a positive way: the place of the Treaty as a foundation for our sense of nationhood.

“And it’s a far more constructive way: having a conversation rather than attacking the principles of the Treaty, on which there’s been long-standing policies and laws that have been based off the principles of the Treaty.”

A referendum on Te Tiriti would not be good news.

“The referendum in Australia is a case in point, as to why we would not have a referendum of a similar sort here in New Zealand.

“It will only, sadly, take us backwards and it won’t be a positive, affirming statement in terms of the kind of country that we are, and want to be.”

The chair of the National Urban Māori Authority described the protest as a response to a politics of division.

“In a short space of time, the new Coalition with its anti-Māori policies, has resulted us standing up against such divisive rhetoric, which goes against the spirit of Treaty partnership,” said Lady Tureiti Moxon, managing director of Te Kōhao Health, and chair of the National Urban Māori Authority.

“In the current political 100-day coalition action plan, Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been defined to favour the Crown, with the right to assimilate and neutralise all forms of rangatiratanga,” she said.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi guaranteed tino rangatiratanga (self-determination: chiefly rule) to the iwi Māori. It is the founding document of our nation here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Those who think that the Tiriti provision of Kawanatanga (governance: the structure of government) ceded full sovereignty to 2000 Englishmen who resided here at the time are completely wrong.”

Specific Government policies being challenged at each demonstration were countered with clear placards saying:

Whakahōnore Te Tiriti o Waitangi - Honour the Treaty of Waitangi

Puritia Te Aka Whaiora – Keep the Māori Health Authority

Kia mau ki Te Reo Māori - Treasure our Māori Language

Auahi Kore Aotearoa - Smoke Free New Zealand

Lady Moxon, a trained lawyer and previous member of the Waitangi Tribunal, is a current claimant in WAI 2575 the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry.

“The health reforms were about creating transformational change so that everyone received the health services they needed in a fair and equitable system.”

“Despite all the hard work it took to establish Te Aka Whai Ora, their governance board, appointing their chief executive, the executive team, employing staff, undertaking community consultations, branding, setting up of the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards in order to bring about transformational change, this Government has decided to scrap it.”

This would be “just the start” of a series of protest actions over the next three years as Māori take to the streets to protect the progress made over decades to date that is at risk of backsliding in the hands of the new government in a matter of 100 days, she said.