The Student
“They’re trying to strike fear into our hearts” — Te Paea Maurirere.
Eighteen-year-old Te Paea Maurirere didn’t learn to write many English words until she was seven or eight years old.
Like many others, her first language was Te Reo Māori.
Simple gestures, such as when New Zealand cities started adding Māori words and place names to garbage bins and street signs a few years ago, felt culturally inclusive.
“It was cool. Now they’re taking that away,” she said.
The “they” to whom she refers is the country's new coalition government.
Te Paea Maurirere didn’t learn to write many English words until she was seven or eight years old. Credit: Te Paea Maurirere
By December, it had announced it would roll back the use of Māori language in government organisations and require public service departments and crown entities to communicate primarily in English.
Its policies include switching the names of some departments from Māori to English, a move that has been labelled “anti-Māori” by Māori leaders.
A push from ACT for the government to review laws regarding the country's foundational Treaty of Waitangi has also sparked discussion.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has called the use of Te Reo Māori names tokenism.
“Communications is about comprehension and understanding,” he said.
Maurirere agrees with the latter part of Peters’ statement, saying young generations of Māori need to be able to understand their own language.
“What about the new generations that only speak Te Reo Māori? How do they expect Māori to thrive in those conditions?” she said.
“You can’t turn down the volume on our voices. The government doesn’t have Māori best interests at heart.”
Record crowds expected on 6 February
On 6 February this year, opponents of the new government expect voices at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to be louder than ever, with between 60,000 and 80,000 people expected to congregate for the country's national day, which marks the anniversary of the treaty's signing in 1840.
Descendants of the original Māori Waitangi leaders say race relations are the worst they’ve been in 30 years, and with the biggest crowd on record expected, security has been beefed up.
The theme for the commemorations is Toitū He Whakaputanga, Toitū Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which translates to 'Uphold the [1835] Declaration of Independence, uphold the Treaty of Waitangi'.
“We have fought a long battle and we have long met the crown halfway. So it’s time for parliament, the government and the rest of the non-Māori who don’t agree with the treaty to walk the rest of the way, instead of putting up roadblocks,” Maurirere said.
The Academic
“A comprehensive attack on Māori” — Carwyn Jones, Māori law and philosophy lead academic, Te Wānanga o Raukawa
The atmosphere at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on 6 February usually feels very positive to Carwyn Jones, especially in the past couple of years.
But he thinks this year could be different.
Legal expert Carwyn Jones believes the current government's proposals regarding amending the treaty are "a comprehensive attack on Māori." Credit: Colin McDiarmid Image Services
“This is probably the first Waitangi Day in a long time where we’ve had a government policy program which is so comprehensively anti-Māori,” he said.
Jones says the government can’t change what the treaty says but can change the way the government recognises it and applies its principles, which the proposed Treaty Principles Act aims to do.
“The principles are already a watered-down version of what the treaty says. It’s a way to reconcile sovereignty and self-determination with the rights with crown. What the proposals will do is take it away too far from the intent of the treaty,” Jones said.
The academic said the change wouldn't be consistent with the past 30 to 40 years of policy and precedent.
“It makes it not about Māori rights,” he said.
But support for the bill may not be shared equally among the governing coalition; Luxon says the National Party doesn't intend to support the bill beyond its first reading.
His coalition partner David Seymour from ACT is driving the push to pass the Treaty Principles Bill.
Seymour insists, “If we say the Treaty Principles Act is divisive, what we’re really saying is we can’t do anything where people disagree in this country.”
He said the bill would include a requirement for a binding referendum as part of a commencement clause.
'Likely to be very similar to Australia’s referendum on the Voice'
Jones sees parallels with Australia’s overwhelming rejection of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, foreseeing a “divisive process” determined by a majority non-Indigenous population.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me to put questions of actual human rights to a popularity contest,” he said.
Luxon says his party doesn't support holding a referendum, but Jones sees that position changing.
“Should this move pick up some popularity, the prime minister would have no hesitation with taking that forward,” he said.
The Politician
“Examples of the tools of white supremacy” — Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Māori Party co-leader.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says there is no way to soften the truth: “Our lives, our wellbeing is at threat”.
The co-leader of the Te Pati Māori (Māori Party) expects to see greater unity among the broader New Zealand population this Waitangi Day.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is an MP in the New Zealand parliament. Credit: Te Pāti Māori
The coalition has also floated plans to scrap the Māori Health Authority, Te Aka Whai Ora, and repeal legislation that aims to prevent the removal of Māori children from their families.
The health body, which was established to reverse negative Māori health outcomes, has only been in operation for a year.
Health Minister Shane Reti says it has produced “little, if any tangible outcomes”.
But Māori health experts say it hasn’t been given a chance to produce outcomes.
Ngarewa-Packer agrees.
“We have a government that’s come in that wants to undo policy and systems that were designed by a tribunal and by multiple medical experts that would help Māori to close the gap of why they’re dying seven to 10 years earlier than non-Māori,” she said.
“The fact they’re comfortable pushing us back 50 years isn’t going to be tolerated.”
“I really think a lot of a lot of Aotearoa will stand up,” she said.
Is there a political stoush brewing?
The new government's policies will come up against a record 33 legislators of Māori heritage, or 27 per cent of New Zealand's parliament.
Te Pati Māori tripled its number of seats in parliament to six, or nearly 4.9 per cent of the legislature.
“We have a large mandate of Māori to push back against anti-Māori government,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
On this year’s Waitangi Day, Ngarewa-Packer has a simple message: “The world is watching us right now.”
