Iwi Māori from across the motu came together at three hui in January and February at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Rātana Pā, and Waitangi to organise a united response to the racist rhetoric and policies relating to Māori that the Government had signalled early in their tenure.
These policies include removing te reo Māori names across public services ministries, reducing the use of te reo Māori in the public service, disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora The Maori Health Authority and redefining the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – all without any discussion with Māori.
First hui: Te Hui ā Motu
On Saturday 20 January, Te Kīngi Māori, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, held te Hui ā Motu (national hui) to unify ngā iwi Māori, and ensure all voices were heard when holding the new coalition government to account.
The theme of Hui ā Motu was: Taakiri Tuu Te Kotahitanga, Taakiri Tuu Te Mana Motuhake – which means unity together as we strive for self-determination.
About 3000 people were expected to attend but more than 10,000 turned up to Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia on the banks of the Waikato River. The tangata whenua (hosts) Waikato-Tainui were asked to head to the nearby river, to make space for the manuhiri (guests). No one objected to standing in the sweltering heat outside of crowded marquees.
Among the thousands who attended the hui were iwi representatives and leaders, hapū members, parliamentarians, PSA members, Council of Trade Union (CTU) leaders and tāngata Tiriti.
There was a sense of mana motuhake (empowerment) and unity amongst leaders and attendees. Workshops were held across the day that allowed people to engage on the topics that mattered to them the most, including topics on Te Tiriti and the environment, te reo me te tikanga Māori, rangatahi Māori (young Māori), and more. The atmosphere was futurefocused, uplifting, and unifying.
Second hui: Rātana
In the following week Kīngi Tūheitia travelled to Rātana Pā to present the conclusions of te Hui ā Motu to the nation at the annual Rātana hui.
The hui at Rātana is held around the birthday of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, the movement’s founder, on 25 January and attracts politicians to hear from, and speak to Māori leaders.
In speech after speech, the Government was taken to task by Māori leaders, warning the coalition of “meddling” with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Responding to speakers from Rātana, Cabinet Minister Shane Jones issued a wero (challenge) to take the debate about Te Tiriti to Waitangi.
Māori from across the country took up Jones’ wero travelled to Waitangi in February in droves to debate the coalition’s divisive policies affecting Māori – including the debate around the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Third hui: Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day, the most important day of the year for our nation, saw a massive display of unity of Māori o te motu, united in the true spirit of kotahitanga (solidarity). More than 40,000 Māori and tāngata Tiriti came from all over Aotearoa to stand together as one to send a message of mana motuhake (Māori self-determination) to the coalition Government and its divisive anti-Māori policies.
PSA delegation at Rātana Pā.
On the Sunday afternoon before Waitangi Day, two of Māoridom’s leading voices, Kīngi Tūheitia and Rātana Tumuaki (President) Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou, arrived with iwi leaders from across the motu, in a true showing of kotahitanga. Responding to the tono (invitation) from Ngāpuhi rangatira, the Kīngitanga led hundreds onto the grounds, carrying with them the mauri (spirit) from te Hui ā Motu.
A slogan much in evidence at Waitangi was “Toitū He Whakaputanga, Toitū Te Tiriti. The Declaration of Independence endures, The Treaty of Waitangi endures”. (He Whakaputanga – The Declaration of Independence, was signed by Māori in 1835 and ratified by King William IV in 1836, four years before Te Tiriti was signed. He Whakaputanga recognised the sovereignty of Māori and set the foundation for some but not all Māori signing the Māori version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840. Both documents are entwined and are recognised as sacred by Māori).
The PSA's presence at the hui
PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho, along with PSA staff, members and union affiliates, attended all three hui to stand together with iwi, hapū and whanau demanding genuine partnership and collaboration between Māori and the Government.
The actions of this Government have reignited Māori to unite at all three hui in protest, culminating at Waitangi, challenging the coalition to truly honour the Crown’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
In the words of Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero Te VII, “The best protest we can do is being Māori. Be who we are, live by our values, speak our reo, care for our mokopuna. Just be Māori, all day, every day.”
