PM keen to work with Maori Party

Prime Minister John Key is welcomed on to Te Tii Marae for Waitangi celebrations today. Photo / NZPA

Prime Minister John Key has told iwi gathered at Te Tii Waitangi marae that he wants to work with the Maori Party again after the election.

Mr Key, speaking at the beginning of Waitangi weekend celebrations, said if he was in a place to do so, he was keen to continue his party's relationship with the Maori Party.

He said while some - including MP Hone Harawira - were dissatisfied, he believed progress had been substantial.

Mr Key also sent a message to Mr Harawira about his calls for the Maori Party to ditch its arrangement with National.

"We all have our views. I know Hone has his views. But in Opposition you stop things. You don't create things. That's why I don't want to return to Opposition."

He said those at the meeting should focus on getting their children educated rather than constantly relitigating old grievances.

There were some muted objections when Mr Key outlined the reasons for government support for the new foreshore bill and the value he believed his 'boot camps' were having. However his speech - in particular his attempt at an extended mihi in te reo - was politely listened to.

Inside the marae, Ngapuhi kaumatua Kingi Taurua said Maori believed the seas, the rivers and the mountains belonged to them. "So why do we have to go to court to prove our rights?" he asked.

On the way out of the marae, Mr Key was again confronted by protester Wikitana Popata, but he didn't manage to get close to the Prime Minister.

Protesters also hecked Maori Affairs Minister Mr Sharples, yelling at him "shame, shame" and calling him a "plastic Maori".

Mr Popata had earlier protested Mr Key's entry to the marae, yelling through a loud hailer: "Why are you here? The enemy is amongst us."

Mr Popata and his brother John Junior Popata, nephews of Maori Party MP Hone Harawira, were convicted and each sentenced to 100 hours' community work for the 2009 Waitangi assault on Mr Key.

"He is the one responsible for stealing our lands and killing many of our rangatahi (young people)," said Mr Popata this morning. "We must become a free nation from this corrupt government... from these injustices that he's put upon our people.

Mr Popata called the Maori Party kupapa, the term meaning "traitor" that was used for Maori who collaborated with the Government during the 1860s New Zealand Wars.

Diplomatic service personnel crushed in around Mr Popata as Maori who participated in the powhiri ushered him into the whare.

Mr Key was accompanied by Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples and several of his own ministers including Bill English, Hekia Parata, Georgina te Heuheu and local MPs.

He and Dr Sharples were surrounded by a large security contingent.

Mr Popata's protest was not the first controversy of the morning as Hama Apiata, the chairman of the Waitangi Marae Maori Committee, earlier tried to evict the New Zealand Herald and a TV3 reporter from the marae grounds, saying TVNZ had paid exclusive rights for the coverage.

Others from the marae defended media, however, and said they were allowed to be there.

In a controversial move, the Te Tii Waitangi Marae has demanded that media organisations wanting to enter the marae to cover the celebrations pay a $1000 koha (gift).

The move has incensed many, who claim it is a fee and not a koha, and have refused to pay up.