Māori and allies encouraged to strike
Nationwide protests are planned for Thursday – Budget Day – with supporters encouraged to walk off the job as part of a ‘nationwide activation’ in response to the Government’s perceived “assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
Te Pāti Māori and others connected to the Toitu Te Tiriti movement, started by Te Pāti Māori activists when the coalition Government came into power, have been asking supporters to "save the date” for a “nationwide activation”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he expected the Budget to deliver for Māori.
“Look, I mean, Te Pāti Māori and their supporters are completely within their rights to protest,” he said.
The prime minister struck a more conciliatory tone than NZ First MP and minister Shane Jones, who said the protest would play into a “lunatic fringe” of activists.
In an online post, organisers said the protest was meant to show unity and “the might of Māori and tangata tiriti working together”.
The post said the Government’s policies were an “assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
It is understood a “carkoi” will take place on State Highway 1 south of Auckland led by the National Urban Māori Authority/Te Kōhao Health tautoko from 7am, and will drive around ‘key roundabouts’ in Hamilton. A carkoi is a march like a traditional hīkoi, but involves a long line of cars headed to a destination rather than walking.
The action will be the second in six months against the Government, with thousands of protesters taking to roads around the country in December, amid mounting legal action by Māori against Government policies.
Cases are currently before both the Waitangi Tribunal and the High Court, challenging the Government’s moves to disestablish the Māori health authority, restore binding referendums to Māori wards, remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act, and its smokefree law amendments.
On Friday, East Coast iwi Ngāti Kahungunu will host the next national hui to mobilise iwi Māori and continue a kotahitanga (unity) kaupapa.
The kotahitanga kaupapa started on January 20 when an estimated 10,000 Māori and non-Māori from around Aotearoa descended on Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia, heeding the call of the Māori King, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII.
The kaupapa continued at Rātana just four days later, attracting about 7000 people, followed up by a massive turnout of around 60,000 to 80,000 at Waitangi for Waitangi Day commemorations in February.
The Hui Taumata will be held at Omāhu Marae, one of the seven marae devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle just over a year ago and the largest marae in Heretaunga.