Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
OPINION
When the debate around race relations has been hot for so long, it’s surprising just how refreshing it is when the temperature cools.
It may have been brief and no doubt the debate will rage again but amid the sorrow and grief at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Kīngi Tūheitia’s vision for kotahitanga [unity] shone through as a fallen monarch is farewelled.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was among the hundreds of Waikato-Tainui who descended on Ngāruawāhia today to express their condolences for the loss of 69-year-old Kīngi Tūheitia, who passed away on Friday after 18 years as Māori King.
The roads leading to Tūrangawaewae Marae would’ve been fresh in Luxon’s memory, having attended Tūheitia’s annual coronation celebrations - Koroneihana - last week.
The marae was the same, the wintery weather was the same, but the two events couldn’t have been more distinct.
From left: Māori/Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and former National Party Ministers Sir Douglas Graham and Sir Don McKinnon at Tūrangawaewae Marae for Kīngi Tūheitia's tangi. Photo / Kīngitanga
Last week, Waikato-Tainui unleashed iwi elder Tukoroirangi Morgan onto Luxon, accusing his Government of throwing Māori under the bus and running them over through the proposed reform of Oranga Tamariki and the ever-contentious Treaty Principles Bill.
Luxon, taking wave after wave of criticism, was forced to restate his commitment made in the House after attending Waitangi that the bill, a product of the Act Party, wouldn’t make it to a second reading in Parliament.
Today, all of the division faded into the background.
What it revealed was a Prime Minister struck with emotion as he stood on the ātea [courtyard] and addressed Tūheitia’s casket and his surrounding whānau.
His voice shook as he described a man whose generosity and kindness towards Luxon in his first steps as a politician had clearly extended through to his ascension to Prime Minister.
He gave insights into his private relationship with the late King, from the dry humour they both enjoyed to the sharing of whitebait fritters, courtesy of Tūheitia’s wife.
“That is the Kingi Tūheitia I will remember,” Luxon said, his words sticking in his throat.
“You were gone too early.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks on Tūrangawaewae Marae. Photo / Kīngitanga
Kīngitanga spokesman Rahui Papa was quick to acknowledge Luxon’s last visit when he had to suffer Tainui’s “cannon fodder”.
“Today, the bullets are filled with aroha,” Papa said.
Tainui whānau murmured in agreement as Papa credited Luxon for fronting up in person for the second time in as many weeks.
Luxon’s company afforded him another level of respect. Sitting alongside him were the “elders from the National Party” - Sir Don McKinnon, Sir Douglas Graham, Dame Jenny Shipley, as well as former Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright and Matt Bolger, son of former National PM Jim Bolger.
Graham, instrumental in Tainui’s 1995 settlement as Treaty Negotiations Minister, was welcomed like whānau - quite literally as Papa recalled how a Tainui man born three decades ago still carried Douglas as a middle name.
Luxon later told journalists he saw himself as coming “from that tradition” of National Party leaders with strong relationships with the Kīngitanga.
Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Sir Douglas Graham was treated with the utmost respect while at Tūrangawaewae Marae for Kīngi Tūheitia's tangi today. Photo / Kīngitanga
While he says he cares little for personal legacy, Luxon clearly desires to be remembered in a similar regard through what he hopes to achieve for both Māori and non-Māori.
This unified approach is central to Luxon’s goals, particularly in health and education, and explains why he felt a strong connection with Tūheitia, a man who continued to call for unity as divisions became even more stark.
Speaking to the monarch lying in state, Luxon made his strongest commitment to heal those rifts.
“We heard you. Kotahitanga, unity. This is the pathway forward.”
How this manifests in Government will be intriguing to watch.
Luxon is adamant the direction he is taking New Zealand is the right one for all, regardless of ethnicity.
But if the Treaty Principles Bill leads to the unrest promised by some in te ao Māori, will Luxon’s reflections following Tūheitia’s passing push him closer to revoking his commitment to David Seymour and scrapping the bill before it hits the House?
Whatever happens, moments like today provide reassurance that Tūheitia’s vision of unity isn’t so far out of reach as some might think.
