Key Māori leaders are calling for a united front in the face of the coalition government’s plans as thousands start to arrive at Waitangi for the annual commemorations.

The Kīngitanga will lead a delegation onto the Treaty Grounds this afternoon along with representatives from Rātana and Te Pati Māori.

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders spoke today shortly before 3pm ahead of their pōwhiri onto the Waitangi Treaty Grounds alongside the Kīngitanga and the Rātana Church.

Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer arrived with a strong message for the Government calling it a “three-headed taniwha”.

Asked why the party had not joined the other members of the Opposition in the official powhiri yesterday, Ngarewa-Packer said her party was fundamentally a part of Mana Motuhaka - the united movement of Māori.

“We are not a subset of Labour,” she added.

Her co-leader Rawiri Waititi added: “Māori have been in opposition since 1840. Not so long ago Labour didn’t want us, we were the party no one wants, so we’re standing with Mana Motuhake so we can just be us.”

Ngarewa-Packer said the key for Te Pāti Māori today was that the party “must stand where the call for unity and righteous anger belongs”.

Waititi said, “The biggest message is kotahitanga,” by which he meant the unity of Māori.

Te Pāti Māori is being welcomed onto the treaty grounds this afternoon with Kīngi Tūheitia and an estimated 2000 members of the Kīngitanga movement. There’s a marching band, a very large kapahake contingent from Ngapuhi to meet them, and a growing crowd of spectators too. The proceedings have just begun.

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The party’s absence from yesterday’s welcome for the Labour and the Greens was referenced by several speakers including Kelvin Davis who said he was disappointed the full Opposition hadn’t joined together.

Te Pāti Māori argued it was distinct from other political parties and felt it more appropriate to walk onto Te Whare Runanga alongside the Māori King, which they did at Rātana last month.

Te Paati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa Packer and Rawiri Waititi talk to media at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds ahead of Waitangi Day celebrations 04 February 2024 Picture supplied credit: Marika Khabazi for RNZ

Thousands have begun arriving at Waitangi for the annual commemorations.

Kīngitanga welcomed

The pōwhiri welcoming the Kīngitanga, Te Pāti Māori, and the Rātana Church began about 3.30pm today, following a rousing challenge posed by Ngāpuhi’s warriors on the picturesque grounds of Waitangi.

Bishop Kito Pikaahu has blessed the pōwhiri, standing alongside former politician Hone Harawira and Waitangi National Trust Board chairman Pita Tipene.

Māori King Kīngi Tūheitia is sitting on Te Whare Runanga’s veranda as is Rātana leader Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tāmou and former Te Pāti Māori president Dame Nadia Glavish.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi is sitting in the front row of the Manuhiri (visitor) paepae alongside other leaders in Rātana and the Kīngitanga.

Ngāpuhi’s Isaiah Apiata repeated sentiments he shared yesterday in his whaikōrero, saying he felt unity had been achieved today.

He did make mention of Act leader David Seymour. Apiata acknowledged Seymour was of local hapū Ngāti Rēhia but said he should be left to Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rēhia to deal with.

“He is still Māori, leave him to us.”

Apiata did pose a question to the visitors about what they would do when Te Tiriti o Waitangi turned 200 in 2040.

He spoke of how, in past celebrations, the likes of Sir Apirana Ngata had brought knowledge. The Tainui iwi had given waka and carvers.

The heat is such in Waitangi today that Apiata had to confess to the crowd that he would move out of the sun into the shade as it was likely getting a bit hot on his bare feet on the concrete.

Ngāpuhi rangatira Hone Sadler referenced the Government’s impending arrival tomorrow and urged caution paired with resilience.

“Don’t fight the wrongs with the wrongs.

“Even though we are upset and angry, never meet anger with anger.

“Let us remain peaceful, humble but don’t let us drop our guard.”

Labour pledges support

There is a significantly larger crowd gathered beside the marae at Waitangi compared to yesterday, with a couple hundred sitting on the grass awaiting the pōwhiri.

Earlier today, Labour pledged its support to Ngāpuhi and wider te ao Māori as the iwi seeks to oppose some of the Government’s agenda on Māori issues.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins and his MPs made the commitment alongside warnings of “spiders” and a “den of lions” approaching - a reference to the Government’s scheduled arrival at the marae on Monday.

Hipkins also hit back at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s challenge to iwi leaders yesterday regarding poor school attendance by Māori students, saying Luxon should first understand how the current education system wasn’t respectful or inviting to Māori.

Labour and the Greens joined together for their pōwhiri (welcome) to Te Whare Rūnanga on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds amid rare conditions that were at times blustery and stormy.

It’s the first of three pōwhiri featuring politicians over the next three days. Te Pāti Māori would be welcomed on alongside representatives of the Kīngitanga and the Rātana Church, while the three governing parties would walk on together on Monday.

Under the previous Labour Government, a single pōwhiri was held at the annual celebrations in an effort to promote unity.

Several speakers today either joked about Te Pāti Māori’s absence or confessed disappointment all parties within the Opposition couldn’t portray a united front through a single welcome.

Regardless, it didn’t prevent Ngāpuhi leader Hone Sadler from questioning Labour and the Greens on how they would support Ngāpuhi in its resistance against Government policies that concerned Māori, such as the Treaty Principles Bill and the repeal of the Māori Health Authority.

“For a long time, this fight has been fought by my ancestors right down to my grandchildren.

“We are sick of fighting but how can we stop the fight because the price will be our children, our grandchildren.”

He challenged Hipkins to “strengthen your back” and “square your shoulders”, while cheekily congratulating the former Prime Minister for not “crying” because he had lost the election.

Labour and the Greens are welcomed onto Te Whare Rūnanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Photo / Adam Pearse

Yesterday, Luxon challenged members of the National Iwi Chairs Forum over poor school attendance levels for Māori, saying it was something both the Government and iwi needed to address.

Hipkins, who only spoke briefly in te reo before reverting to English, had clearly taken issue with this and implored the Prime Minister to talk with Māori students to learn how some didn’t feel respected or felt couldn’t be themselves at school.

“If we want better outcomes ... we have to change that.”

His kōrero was largely split in two; detailing how Māori entities and empowering Māori organisations benefited all, and how actions of the current Government were taking the country backwards.

Hipkins was eager to encourage Ngāpuhi to view the Government as a whole instead of three coalition partners as he accused Luxon of attempting to distance himself from Act’s Treaty Principles Bill, also noting how Act leader David Seymour didn’t speak for his hapū Ngāti Rēhia, nor did he speak for non-Māori.

He used a quote from famous Northland Māori rights leader Dame Whina Cooper about safeguarding and encouraging future generations by wondering “what our children are seeing and hearing at the moment”.

Hipkins paused his criticism to acknowledge “progress” made under former National-led governments and hoped the current party wouldn’t turn its back on that progress.

MPs from Labour and the Greens sit as speeches are heard. Photo / David Fisher

The Labour leader’s speech was prefaced by powerful kōrero from MP Peeni Henare and former MP Kelvin Davis, who gave his final speech in the House last week.

Davis urged Ngāpuhi to speak boldly when the Government arrived on Monday.

“The den of lions is coming to us, we must not speak to them like lambs, their work will do nothing for Māori.

“If we are not careful, the Pāhekā spider will consume everything.”

He spoke a fight “with no end”, one he promised Labour would continue.

“We will fight the spiders within Parliament.”

Davis, a former Te Tai Tokerau MP, made special mention of Ngāti Rēhia leader Kipa Munro. Seymour had ancestral links to the Kerikeri hapū.

He criticised the Act leader for not engaging further with his whanaunga (relatives) regarding his bill that proposed to redefine the Treaty principles.

“If I was to do something like that, I would go home and seek the support of my people.”

Henare, whose ancestry is closely tied to war and combat, used that history and that of Ngāpuhi to commit Labour’s support to the iwi, saying the “bugle had sounded” and that now was the time to fight.

He later explained his comments were in response to Ngāpuhi readying itself for a fight and indicating Labour would stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the iwi.

Labour's Peeni Henare speaking on the atea at Te Whare Runanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Photo / Adam Pearse

Henare also included a word of caution, encouraging Ngāpuhi not to punch the “taniwha” with one hand and ask with the other.

“Ngāpuhi, we are your friends who will fight for you.”

James Shaw, who recently announced he would step down as Green Party co-leader, echoed Henare in promising Ngāpuhi his “cannon is fully loaded” as he continued his fight for the environment.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson made her first speech entirely in te reo Māori from the veranda of the marae, listing her whanaunga from the north.

Her speech was interrupted by short bursts of rain which sent both parties retreating further under their tents.

Instead of despairing, Davidson welcomed the downpour as proof her call for protection of the whenua and climate had been heard.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.