Greens call for NZ Wars plaque
The Green Party is calling on the Speaker to install a plaque in Parliament’s debating chamber recognising the New Zealand Wars.
Parliament’s debating chamber currently features 33 memorial plaques and wreaths on its walls commemorating famous battles or wars in which New Zealanders have died.
These include Gallipoli, Passchendaele, and Afghanistan – but not the New Zealand Wars, a series of armed conflicts during the mid-19th century between Ma¯ ori and the New Zealand settler government.
The Ministry of Culture and Heritage estimates almost 3000 people died in the wars – most of whom were Ma¯ ori.
The wars have also been known as the ‘‘Land Wars’’ or the ‘‘Ma¯ori Wars’’ over the years, as around 3.2 million acres of Ma¯ ori land was confiscated during them.
Green MP Gareth Hughes wrote to the Speaker on Tuesday requesting the plaque.
‘‘The glaring omission of a plaque commemorating our own wars reflects our country’s wider New Zealand Wars historical amnesia but that has changed in recent years,’’ Hughes wrote.
Hughes said he had written to other parties and talked to Labour’s Ma¯ ori Caucus, who supported the idea in principle.
The New Zealand Wars have gained new recognition in recent years, with the Government recently putting up $4m to be spent commemorating the conflicts within the country.
A spokeswoman for Speaker Trevor Mallard said it was ‘‘matter for discussions with colleagues’’.
Three plaques were installed in 2013 – one commemorating the
10 military deaths in Afghanistan, five in Timor-Leste, while two others honour peace-keeping missions across the globe.
The last plaques installed before that came during the mid90s, commemorating wars in Vietnam and Malaysia.