The Prime Minister announced before Christmas that he would not make the February political pilgrimage to Waitangi. Instead he is sending a delegation of senior MPs in hisplace and he would celebrate the country’s national day elsewhere.
Fair enough if he was another garden-variety New Zealander, but he’s not. He is the leader of this country and should front up in the good times and the bad times.
The Labour Party was quick to put the boot into Luxon for his no-go decision.
“Waitangi Day is an incredibly special time of year, and being able to go up and celebrate where the Treaty was first signed is a privilege,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said.
“This decision by Christopher Luxon shows that he is not willing to stand on his own track record and defend the decisions his Government is making.”
The Waitangi National Trust chair Pita Tipene was also disappointed in the decision, as Luxon would also miss a hui with the Iwi Chairs Forum, which meets at Waitangi before the politicians.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses the crowd at the Waitangi Day dawn ceremony last year. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Crown-Māori relations, strained at the best of times, are plummeting and Luxon’s decision will be seen by some as a snub to Māori.
Last year, during an interview with TVNZ’s Q+A, Luxon admitted that under his Government, the Crown-Māori relationship had worsened.
Going to Waitangi could have been an opportunity for Luxon to start rebuilding some of those bridges.
Luxon was out of the country when the contentious Treaty Principles Bill had its first reading in Parliament, though he has maintained National will support the bill no further.
Act leader David Seymour speaking at Waitangi Treaty House.
Yet despite Luxon’s no-show, Act Leader David Seymour, the author of the bill, and his entire caucus will front up at Waitangi.
So too will NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.
Seymour knows that while he might not be liked by many at the event and his bill is seen as treacherous by some, he will at least be welcomed on to the Waitangi Marae grounds and given an opportunity to speak.
He might get booed and shouted at, but he will roll out his party line of just wanting to open a conversation about the Treaty.
What people take away from Seymour’s speech at Waitangi is up to them, but at least he will be there making it.
