Feud over Waitangi ceremony
The organisers of Waitangi Day commemorations and Te Tii Marae trustees are at odds over where next year’s official welcome will take place.
Traditionally Te Tii has hosted and welcomed political parties, dignitaries and iwi on the lower marae on February 5 – the day set aside for political talks.
At a hui yesterday, Waitangi Day Organising Committee chair and NZ First MP Pita Paraone, with the backing of former Labour MP Shane Jones and Maori activist Titewhai Harawira, called for everything to be moved to the upper marae at the Treaty grounds.
It comes on the back of increasing controversy at Te Tii and political leaders boycotting the marae.
But Ngapuhi elder Kingi Taurua says Paraone has no power to take the welcome and political talks away from Te Tii.
He has called on marae trustees to consult more widely with other Ngapuhi hapu before making a decision.
‘‘The only opportunity we get to raise political issues is here,’’ he said.
‘‘Why would you want to shift it upstairs? It’s only because they feel the Government gets a hard time down here.’’
Following the hui Taurua said it was decided a meeting of all Ngapuhi would be held on July 1 to discuss whether Te Tii would keep their hosting rights.
But Paraone says that’s not the case and he made it clear the official welcome would happen at the Treaty grounds and the hui next month was to decide whether Te Tii would be represented at the welcome or not.
Jones said the trustees of Te Tii would play no ‘‘leadership role’’ in the welcome next year.
‘‘The people that are hostile to this development are the same crowd who have created the wreckage for so long,’’ he said.
Prime Minister Bill English skipped events at Waitangi this year. It came after former Prime Minister John Key didn’t attend last year for the first time after being refused speaking rights amid threats of protest.
English said in February that organisers of Waitangi Day commemorations needed to ‘‘get to grips’’ with hosting an event that Kiwis and the Government will support.
He also raised the idea of taking Waitangi Day on the road and a different marae hosting official ceremonies each year.
Te Tii Marae representatives tried to sell exclusive broadcast rights to media for $10,000 to cover commemorations but news organisations refused to pay the fees.
NZ First leader Winston Peters took a stand and refused to go on the marae out of protest at the way Te Tii had handled events leading up to Waitangi, including the media ban.
Taurua said he didn’t agree with the way some things had been handled at the marae in recent years and if the trustees wanted ‘‘to take it away then take it’’ but he wanted a wider conversation with Ngapuhi before that happened.