Co-leader loath to swear oath to Queen
Ma¯ori Party’s Waititi hints at ‘creative’ approach to NZ Parliament tradition
Ma¯ori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi says he will not acknowledge the Queen alone when he is sworn into Parliament tomorrow.
“I don’t want to swear allegiance to the Queen of England,” Waititi told Te Ao Ma¯ori News’ Oriini Kaipara yesterday.
“It’s okay if Nga¯ Rangatira o nga¯ Hapu¯ o Aotearoa and the Treaty of Waitangi are also added. I will agree with that because of the burden our ancestors carried . . . but it’s a bit of a problem if it’s the Queen alone.”
Waititi, who wrested the Waiariki seat off Labour’s Ta¯mati Coffey in one of election night’s biggest upsets, said he’d be
I don’t want to swear allegiance to the Queen of England. Ma¯ori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi
“creative” when he’s sworn in.
“Maybe I’ve found an alternative in my oath.”
Waititi also said he was disappointed he and Ma¯ori Party coleader Debbie Ngarewa-packer wouldn’t have a chance to respond to the Crown tomorrow because they hadn’t yet delivered their maiden speeches.
“We have a problem with that because the Ma¯ori voice is silenced on the first day of Parliament.”
Waititi and Ngawera-packer will give their maiden speeches on December 3.
“It’s there we’ll give our hopes and aspirations for the next three years,” Waititi told Ma¯ori TV.
Waititi also affirmed his support for Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft’s call for urgent transformation of the care and protection of Ma¯ori babies by Oranga Tamariki.
Becroft has recommended that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet commit to transferring power and resources from the Government to enable byMa¯ori, for-ma¯ori approaches that keep Ma¯ori babies in the care of their wha¯nau.
“What I’ll say is a new New Zealand is growing,” Waititi said.
“It’s an NZ that wants to see Ma¯ori with equal rights in their own land.” — Te Ao Ma¯ori News