Te Ōtāne Huata at a peace gathering in December last year. He said a Kahungunu ki Heretaunga-led action at Hastings Clock Tower on Thursday would be a peace rally. Photo / Warren Buckland
Te Ōtāne Huata at a peace gathering in December last year. He said a Kahungunu ki Heretaunga-led action at Hastings Clock Tower on Thursday would be a peace rally. Photo / Warren Buckland
Thousands are expected to gather in Hawke’s Bay in the next few days for two hui challenging the coalition Government’s pathway on relationships with Māori.
But organisers pledge the events, including a national hui including the Māori King and regarded as one of the most historic Māori gatherings in Hawke’s Bay in recent years, are not protests - they will be about peace, korero and the unity of kotahitanga.
The first will be an hour-long Kahungunu ki Heretaunga-led rally on Thursday at Hastings Clock Tower, starting at 7am, with karakia, waiata, haka and education from expert speakers.
The second, expected to be much bigger, will be Friday’s Hui Taumata at Ōmahu Marae, beside State Highway 50, between Hastings and Taradale, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi chairperson Bayden Barber and the National Iwi Chairs Forum.
Major plans are in place for traffic management, parking, at least six hours of korero and preparation of hāngī at two sites to feed up to 3000 people, including Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII.
Treaty awareness rally organising spokesperson Te Ōtāne Huata said Thursday’s event, held about dawn to enable people to get to work, is separate from the coinciding nationwide Te Pāti Māori strike, stressed it is a peace rally for people to unify as Te Iwi Māori and Tangata Tiriti whānau.
“It is a place where we are going to offer protection and love for our own whakapapa, love for our own hapū, our iwi and our Māoritanga. We welcome and invite our Tangata Tiriti who recognise the sovereignty that we Māori are entitled to being the kaitiaki of this land,” Huata said.
“It is about us asserting our love for one another as people. So we won’t be calling on people to do what the organisers of this national activation have asked for, calling for a strike.”
“I think many people who don’t know about Te Tiriti o Waitangi will really benefit from some of the kaikōrero [speakers] we have arranged who are experts in their field of knowledge, which can range from people with expertise working in our union space, our Tanagata Tiriti space, those exemplifying how they can live life without so much reliance on the system,” he said.
“This isn’t exclusive to iwi Māori, this is open to all people who want to learn a bit about Te Ao Māori itself and learn a bit about its history.
“This is a show of aroha, a show of manaakitanga and a show of solidarity to our whānau who are doing it pretty rough, who are subject to some of the decisions being made at central Government,” he said.
Barber said over 3000 “RSVPs” have gone out for Friday’s hui at which the bulk of the more than 70 members of the National Iwi Chairs Forum Chairs Forum will be among the speakers, but everyone is welcome.
With one of the biggest crowds on a Hawke's Bay marae in recent years expected, police are working with Ōmahu Marae and iwi to ensure the success of Friday's hui taumata, and visited on Tuesday to check arrangements. Photo / Paul Taylor.
Many have filled discussion papers, and the hui will be live-streamed, including on screens around the marae, and reaffirming the kaupapa he urged: “Leave your politics at the gate”.
In January, King Tuheitia hosted a national hui at Turangawaewae, Ngāruawāhia, after publishing a royal proclamation Te Paki o Matariki to “te iwi Māori” amid concerns for the pathway being taken by the coalition Government, barely a month after it had taken office.
The Māori king was at Ōmahu last April as he and his Tainui iwi came to support the marae in its Cyclone Gabrielle devastation and recovery.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
