Ngāpuhi’s Mere Mangu sparks controversy — again — by speaking during Waitangi welcome

Ngāpuhi’s Mere Mangu is unrepentant after again getting up to speak during the pre-Waitangi Day Parliamentary pōwhiri. Photo / Tania Whyte

Ngāpuhi’s Mere Mangu has again courted controversy by getting to her feet to speak during Waitangi’s Parliamentary welcome.

Earlier disagreement about whether politicians should speak during Sunday’s pōwhiri at the Treaty Grounds was resolved amicably when MPs were allowed to give a speech as long as they avoided politics and spoke in te reo Māori — a rule they followed to varying degrees.

Female politicians, however, did not speak, instead following the proceedings from the mahau [porch] of Te Whare Rūnanga [the carved meeting house].

In Ngāpuhi custom, women don’t speak on the marae atea [the space in front of the meeting house], though in some cases they’ve been allowed to speak from the mahau.

However, after Ngāti Hine leader Waihoroi Shortland wrapped up the speeches but before the hongi and hariru [handshakes], Mangu got to her feet and delivered a short protest in te reo Māori about the exclusion of women.

That sparked loud grumblings and a few heated calls from the hau kāinga [home people] benches for her to finish. A number stood up to start the hongi.

Mangu was unrepentant when spoken to later by the Advocate.

It was “a deliberate move” on her part to protest a decision to allow national leaders, male or female, to speak after future formal welcomes.

Mangu said those who made the decision did not consider or consult their own women.

“We’re over this, [others] forever sidelining us. The women’s voices must be heard. I can stand there and say that because I know my whakapapa. Those men can yell as much as they like.”

Mangu said speaker after speaker had praised the legacy of the late Ngāpuhi matriarch Titewhai Harawira while seemingly forgetting she had argued for the right of women to speak on the marae.

Mangu also spoke during the 2020 Parliamentary pōwhiri, with similar reactions.