Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Labour MP Willie Jackson react to the Prime Minister's declaration he'll not attend Waitangi festivities next year.
Luxon will miss debates on the contentious Treaty Principles Bill, which is central to protests.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer criticised Luxon, urging him to be a Tiriti-centric leader.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s decision to stay away from Waitangi this week is ill-advised.
Luxon’s choice to be elsewhere this Thursday has been signposted since December but sends the wrong signal during a tense period for race relations in this country, a timewhen we need our politicians fronting up and talking to each other.
Tens of thousands are expected to converge on the small Northland settlement over the coming week for the annual festivities, featuring a dawn ceremony on Thursday.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaking at the Waitangi Treaty House marae ahead of Waitangi Day in 2024. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Former Prime Ministers from both National and Labour have, at times, decided against heading to Waitangi, but Luxon is the first to do so since the festivities were moved from Te Tii Marae up to the meeting house, Te Whare Rūnanga.
Waitangi National Trust board chairman Pita Tipene told the Herald much of the angst associated with Luxon’s absence had “died a natural death”, even if it remained a disappointment.
“It would have been bloody great for the head of the Kāwanatanga, the coalition Government, to have been there but they won’t be, so we just keep focusing on the kaupapa, which is to remember the promise of Waitangi,” he said.
Christopher Luxon is expected to miss debates over the Treaty Principles Bill in Waitangi. Photo / Michael Cunningham
An Act Party creation, the bill is among the most contentious items within the coalition agreement and has been at the centre of protests concerning the Government’s approach to Māori-related policy.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was among those critical of Luxon’s absence, even if she said she wasn’t surprised.
“The reality is that this is a Prime Minister who represents the nation with a million of tangata whenua, so it is a nation that is built off Te Tiriti, and he should have made an effort to be a Tiriti-centric Prime Minister – he’s not.”
Since last year’s Waitangi Day, Luxon has ramped up his assurances the bill will not progress past the select committee, as agreed by all three parties. At Rātana last week, Peters stressed the bill was “dead in the water” and questioned why Act’s effort to rewrite the Treaty’s principles was causing so much concern.
If he remains steadfast in his position, he should make that clear again at Waitangi – as opposed to spending his day visiting a yet-to-be-disclosed part of the South Island this Thursday.
It appears Luxon is keen to distance himself as much as possible from the Treaty Principles Bill. However, he did sign a coalition agreement that committed the country to the current debate.
He should be among those leading the charge on it – even if that involves continuing to argue why he thinks Seymour’s bill shouldn’t progress any further.
