Mourners gather at Tūrangawaewae Marae for the Tangi of Koro Wētere. Video / Michael Craig
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has been welcomed on to Turangawaewae Marae for the funeral of former Māori Affairs Minister Koro Wētere.
Peters and fellow MPs were welcomed on to the marae as a huge downpour fell at the beginning of the tangi for Wētere, who died in his daughter's arms at Te Kuiti Hospital on Saturday.
Shane Jones, Kelvin Davis, Nanaia Mahuta, and Louisa Wall are just a few of the many MPs to farewell Wētere in wet and cold conditions in Ngaruawahia.
The tangi is one of Peters' first official engagements after taking over the role after Jacinda Ardern gave birth to her baby girl, Neve, on Thursday afternoon.
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters leads a Government delegation on to Turangawaewae Marae for Koro Wētere's tangi. Photo / Michael Craig
Speaking to the Herald outside the marae, Peters described Wētere as a "stand-out character" who had respect from right across parliament "and that's not easy to do".
"He was a committed political servant of his people. He never shied from that but he did it in a way which gave him and his people respect.
"He was never flamboyant, loud, rambunctious, so to speak, he was a person with a lot of character and a lot of dignity."
Speeches by the ministers, including Willie Jackson and Shane Jones, brought a few laughs, but Winston Peters' was also humourous in his own way.
"We're here on behalf of the government, which is a coalition of the Labour Party and NZ First, otherwise known as the People's Party."
In his reply, Rahui Papa, unsuccessful Māori Party candidate for Hauraki-Waikato, replied "there was a strong wave of opinion that NZ First was Dad's Army", which collected a laugh from both sides.
Peters added that it was the first time Cabinet had suspended proceedings to attend a tangi for a former member of parliament.
Wētere was Minister of Māori Affairs from 1984 to 1990 in the Labour Government and played a key role in te reo Māori being recognised as an official language, and the resolution of the Māori fisheries settlement.
Mahuta told the Herald it was Wētere who got her into politics.
She said he was an encouraging and influential man who was passionate about politics and Māoridom.
"As a young person growing up he would often frequent our home, marae in terms of progressing issues for Māori. He had a frienship with my father as well so I saw him as a father figure.
"I joined politics because he sent his electorcate secretary up to me at Auckland university, rung me up and said, 'I'm going to sign you up, you better think about standing in 1996 because I'm standing down'."
Labour MP Louisa Wall said his work on developing te reo and passing the Māori Language Act was integral to Māori.
Government minister Shane Jones at Koro Wētere's tangi. Photo / Michael Craig
"It's an opportune time to reflect on 83 years' of service. The amazing legacy that he has left the country. Obviously te reo was something foundational, about Māori identity and the kohanga reo movement."
His integral work with the Waitangi Tribunal process "enabled us to understand who we are, our colonisation and the contact between first peoples and our British colonisers".
Chair of Te Arataura Rukumoana Schaafhausen said much had been mentioned about Koro's parliamentary career but he was also highly valued by the late Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu for his sharp intellect and sage advice.
"He was a person who challenged the status quo whether in his parliamentary career or within the wider Tainui confederation of tribes," she said.
"He was the architect of a framework which allowed Māori to respond to the negative social statistics which formed the cornerstone of the devolution policy which he led in the late 80s.
"This thinking has influenced Te Arataura and the philosophical approach that it takes in building the collective capacity of Waikato-Tainui," Rukumoana said.
The late Koro Wētere. Photo / File
About 100 guests gathered at Turangawaewae for the first day of Wētere's tangi. Because of wet conditions, the parties are sitting under cover of marquees.
