November 15 2021
Cabinet has agreed to move Waikato to alert level 2 from midnight tomorrow - and the rollout of booster vaccination shots will start from November 29.
The iwi connected to New Zealand's most famous haka is calling on anti-vaxxers to stop using it at their protests immediately.
Ngāti Toa has issued a strong notice to anyone who supports Covid anti-vaccination messages that they condemn the use of the Ka Mate haka at their protests.
"As the descendants of Te Rauparaha, we insist that protesters stop using our taonga immediately," one of the iwi's leaders, Dr Taku Parai, said.
"We do not support their position and we do not want our tupuna or our iwi associated with their messages."
Te Rauparaha was a war leader for Ngāti Toa and is credited as composing the Ka Mate haka in the early 1800s.
Freedom and Rights Coalition protesters performing a haka at Parliament, Wellington last week. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It is arguably the most famous and well-known haka around the world; performed by the All Blacks at rugby test matches and by members of the public at various events and special occasions.
Parai said the iwi's move to call on protesters to stop using the haka came after seeing it being used at several anti-vaccination protests during the current Covid outbreak.
The iwi had also been alerted to suggestions that there were plans in place to teach the haka to people at future protest events, he said.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief, Helmut Modlik, said the iwi had been proactive in the protection of its whānau against the virus and had worked closely with local Māori health providers to vaccinate all within the tribe.
He also acknowledged that the iwi had suffered great loss of life in past pandemics and they did not want that to happen during Covid times.
"Many of our tupuna lost their lives in previous pandemics and our iwi suffered greatly.
"We are absolutely clear that the Covid-19 vaccine is the best protection we have available to us and we are committed to supporting our whānau to get vaccinated as soon as possible."
He said the protests happening right now were promoting views of individuals, not of the collective.
"In our view, this is not rangatiratanga and we are confident that our tupuna would agree with our stance.
"Our message to protesters who wish to use Ka Mate is to use a different haka. We do not endorse the use of Ka Mate for this purpose."
