Ardern chalks up first for Waitangi
"We must turn talk to action."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and MPs from across Parliament went to the Waitangi Treaty grounds yesterday where she made history as the first female prime minister to speak at the po¯ whiri.
She told hundreds at the marae who had travelled to hear her speak that she hadn’t come to Waitangi for five days for the ‘‘beauty and hospitality’’ but because ‘‘there’s much work to do’’.
In the past few days she had spoken to iwi about health, education, housing, roads and employment and now ‘‘we must turn talk to action’’.
She recalled first coming to Waitangi as a child with her parents and sister and her parents embracing in a kiss for a photo at the Waitangi grounds – something that caused her much embarrassment at the time.
One day she hoped to bring her own child to Waitangi to learn the importance of the place and its history.
She also spoke of wanting to earn the right to speak at the marae.
‘‘So when we return in one year, in three years, I ask you to ask us what we have done for you.
‘‘Hold us to account. Because one day I want to be able to tell my child that I earned the right to stand here.
‘‘And only you can tell me when I have done that,’’ she said.
Ardern said ‘‘speaking openly and frankly wasn’t a sign of failure’’ and that protest was welcome at Waitangi.
She used cue cards at the beginning of her speech as she addressed everyone in te reo – something she said at Ka¯retu Marae on Saturday was hopefully only temporary, and over time she wouldn’t need to rely on a prompt.
Ardern was feeling the pressure ahead of the speech and told media she hoped to say something that she would look back on as having been meaningful for the occasion.
Labour MP Peeni Henare, who is from Nga¯puhi and has been heavily involved in Ardern’s opportunity to speak, said he had received some criticism from people about her doing so.
Traditionally on February 5 politicians go to Te Tii marae and only men are able to speak there during the po¯ whiri.
National finance spokesman Steven Joyce is also attending the po¯ whiri with a delegation of about 12 MPs – Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and NZ First MPs and Green Party leader James Shaw and some of his colleagues are also in attendance.
A powerful and emotional po¯ whiri kicked off the day of political talks at Waitangi.
The significance of the occasion wasn’t lost on Ardern or Gayford, who both looked clearly overwhelmed by the intense welcome they were presented with.
Some members of the Parliament delegation were seen wiping away tears as they were led on to the marae.
NZ First MP and descendant of Nga¯ puhi Shane Jones and Henare both gave powerful speeches in te reo.
Jones welcomed Ardern and said she had ‘‘put a smile on the face of Waitangi today’’.
He acknowledged Joyce and Shaw for starting their speeches in te reo and keeping the language alive.
Jones spoke of the history of Nga¯puhi and said that while leaders before them, like Henare’s great-grandfather who built the upper marae, were gone, those still alive were only ‘‘custodians’’ of the great things done before their time like the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Joyce spoke at the po¯ whiri of Waitangi being the ‘‘best place in the world for the birth place of this nation’’.
While Waitangi is often talked about for the discourse and protest that has been seen there, Joyce said 99 per cent of the time it’s like it is at the po¯ whiri, ‘‘a truly wonderful place’’.
He briefly mentioned the incident two years ago when a protester threw a dildo at him, saying it was his own ‘‘unique experience’’ of Waitangi and for everyone else’s sake he hoped it stayed unique.
In terms of the Nga¯ puhi settlement, which he described as the ‘‘one that got away’’ for former Treaty negotiations minister Chris Finlayson, Joyce said that for the ‘‘prosperity of our young people’’ it was vital the settlement was achieved.
Nga¯ puhi is the largest iwi in the country and Northland is its home, but disagreement over who should hold the mandate has stalled a settlement for many years.
Shaw acknowledged the ‘‘new way’’ that things were being done this year with everything being held at the Treaty grounds after Te Tii marae lost its hosting rights.
‘‘The significance we put on this occasion cannot be understated,’’ he said.
On Sunday night, MPs attended the annual pre-Waitangi party at NZ First MP Shane Jones’ Kerikeri home.
Ardern and Gayford attended and Ardern joked she was only there for the extensive kaimoana on offer.