K¯ıngi Tuheitia calls for hui
Ma¯ ori King issues royal proclamation against Govt moves
K¯ıngi Tuheitia will host a national hui to unify the nation and ensure all voices are heard when holding the new coalition Government to account.
The Ma¯ori king said that was the message from many rangatira across the motu last weekend who had travelled to the Tamaki Makaurau and Tainui regions to celebrate the 165th anniversary of the birth of the Kiingitanga movement.
He called for a Te Paki o Matariki — a Royal Proclamation — for the national hui to be held in Ngaruawahia in January.
Ma¯ori leaders — including Te Ariki Taa Tumu Te Heuheu and Ratana Tumuaki, Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou — agreed that the Crown must be a responsible Treaty partner and unify, not divide the nation. They are supporting the king’s call for the national hui.
The king’s chief of staff, Ngira Simmonds, says there was a much divisive rhetoric during the election campaign which was being felt by many New Zealanders — both Ma¯ori and non-Ma¯ori.
“There’s strong opposition to the Government’s statements on the Treaty of Waitangi which could undermine decades of hard-fought justice and equality for our nation.
“Now is the time for Kotahitanga and focusing on what we have in common.”
The affirmation of mana motuhake has been the driving force of the
K¯ıngitanga for 165 years, Simmonds says.
“The purpose of this national hui is for te iwi Ma¯ori to gather in our place, with our tikanga, to ko¯ rero and wa¯nanga our future.
“All are welcome to this meeting — it will be a safe place where the many voices of te iwi Ma¯ ori can come together: tamariki, rangatahi, pakeke and kauma¯tua.”
Simmonds says K¯ıngi Tuheitia will host the national hui at Turangawaewae Marae on January 20, 2024 and will then carry the mauri of the hui into the annual Ratana and Waitangi
Day celebrations.
Around the country there have been protest marches lamenting some of the new Government’s plan they believe may turn back the clock for Ma¯ori, such as repealing the antismoking legislation.
Muau¯ poko Tribal Authority chairman Tim Tukapua has been watching and listening to all the debates this week. “Muau¯poko Tribal Authority joins with iwi leaders, tangata whenua, wha¯nau, hapu¯ and tangata tiriti around Aotearoa in urging the Government to look forward, rather than backwards,” he said.
“Any gains in Ma¯ori rights and treatment over several generations have been hard earned, and do not go far enough to address the systemic inequities experienced by Ma¯ori, or to repair the damage done to our taonga. To take this progress backwards, to ignore the very real challenges that our people, our whenua and our taonga are still facing, will be disastrous and have mind blowing implications for our communities and our future together.”