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Opinion by Dr Dion Enari & Dr Levi Fox
THREE KEY FACTS
The primary aim of the hīkoi (march) is to protest against the continuing loss of Māori land.
Wellington is bracing for one its largest-ever protests, with up to 30,000 people expected to join the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti marching on Parliament today.
The Māori Queen, Nga wai hono i te po, will be among supporters of the hīkoi.
Dion Enari is a senior lecturer in sport leadership and management at Auckland University of Technology. He has a PhD in Fa’asamoa and holds the ali’i tulafale title Lefaoali’i from Lepa, Samoa.
Levi Fox (Ngāti Porou Tūwharetoa) has worked in mental health and social work practice across Australia and Aotearoa. His PhD research focused on understanding the role of Indigenous spirituality and ancestral healing frameworks. He is an academic at Gold Coast Griffith University.
A sea of red and black Tino Rangatiratanga flags lined the beaches of the Gold Coast and filled Sydney city central. Perth was also activated, with many gathering to take part in a hīkoi, including others in Hawaii, to reflect what is going on for Māori in Aotearoa right now.
“What in the fair dinkum hullabaloo is going on here?” asks a few Aussie passersby at the Gold Coast spit, ignorant of the plight of Māori in New Zealand.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi at the Hikoi mo te Tiriti marches up Rotorua’s Fenton St on Friday. Photo / Ben Fraser
Well, simply put, we are marching today to show our support and stand in solidarity with Aotearoa in the pushback against the proposed Treaty bill that threatens Mana Motuhake and the constitutional document by which democracy in New Zealand was founded.
Dr Dion Enari.
The relationship between Māori and the Government is fraught now more than ever.
Let’s not dismiss the fact the Māori Health Authority has recently merged into Health NZ, some Māori services had the plug pulled on them, and there has been a petty replacing of Māori names in some Government departments with English names.
If anyone knew a little about the Oranga Tamariki debacle, then maybe a name change isn’t a bad thing. But Seymour’s desperate seven-minute barrage over the meaning of the Treaty principles is obsolete. A waste of time and Luxon has entertained it, albeit from afar.
Why is this even important to Māori overseas? Te Tiriti doesn’t have anything to do with us here from an Australian legal and political standpoint, but it does affect our mokopuna and who we are, what we stand for and what we fall for.
Dr Levi Fox.
There are 170,000 of us living in Australia and many have now come to realise the importance of moving to the Māori Roll.
If anything was to come from Seymour’s tantrum, it should be that Māori everywhere take the threats to mana motuhake seriously and get voting, because the next six months will be a challenging time not just for Māori but all New Zealanders.
Haka and waiata could be heard from afar. Horns were tooting as the sea of flags grew larger. We see you and feel you.
Kīngi Tūheitia.
The coalition Government’s controversial and divisive Treaty Principles Bill has brought unity near and far. It echoes the words of the late Kingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero who said: “The time now is for Kotahitanga”. It’s also time to move to the Māori Roll and increase our chips on the bargaining table.
Why is that important to Māori in Australia? Because te Tiriti is always going to be part of us and Aotearoa will always be home. Tihei Mauri Ora.
