Waitangi: New Force Makes Waves

The highly visible presence at this year's Waitangi commemorations of an estimated 400 followers of the Destiny Church, mainly Maori, was not met with universal approval.

Moving on to Te Tii marae, heads bowed, behind Brian Tamaki and political party head Richard Lewis, they looked more like a slick corporate gathering than a religious movement. The mixture of tight black T-shirts and expensive dark suits bolstered the impression.

Around 80 broke into a fierce haka following a speech by Lewis, in front of Northland's Ngapuhi elders on Saturday. Speeches are normally followed by a less confrontational waiata and although haka are performed, the Destiny behaviour was considered inappropriate by a number of the Northland marae's tangata whenua.

Some Ngapuhi iwi men, and the odd woman, rushed forward to confront the haka, eyeballing those in the front and pushing them back.

Tension simmered but Destiny's soldiers did not falter.

The contrast was startling, the disciplined face of a new force opposed by the divergent, politically divided, and sometimes scruffy strands of Northland's warriors.

Lewis labelled the angry reaction to the Destiny haka as a Maori Party stunt. "The haka may have been perceived as confrontational. It's passionate, as passionate as any other party. Obviously this is a Maori Party patch [Te Tii marae], with Hone [Harawira] being here. Clearly Destiny is a threat to his voter pool."

The tensions continued the following day when division was narrowly avoided at the annual church service held in the vacant waka house on the Waitangi estate.

Tamaki had linked with the Ratana Church to run a service next to the official gathering. He was eventually allowed to join the multi-denominational service, after the Waitangi Trust backtracked on a decision the day before not to allow Destiny Church to preach.

The Bishop of Tai Tokerau, Te Kitohi Pikaahu, said the decision was prompted after a request by the Ratana Church.

Bishop Pikaahu was critical of the tone and duration of Tamaki's service, which went on for almost half an hour longer than expected, and how the Tamaki followers "marched on the way they did".

Tamaki's sermon, a trademark attack on the decline in family values and morals, received a mixed response but his church members, strategically placed among those in attendance, as well as a large contingent lining the fringes, greeted his words with responses of "Say it!" and "Yes".