While the Treaty of Waitangi continues to be battered back and forth, the clear reality is that Maori, after signing the infuriating Treaty, were systematically dispossessed of their land. Any reading of the history of colonial treaties shows that treaties were the primary method of dispossession and were designed to be broken. And invariably they were.
“It’s a road we are travelling together” – Sharon Murdoch
The text of Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern’s Waitangi Day speech
Catherine Delahunty recounts an impression of Todd Muller from her days as an Green MP. “The road to polite and personal good will is worth driving when there is no urgency and no deep changes required. It is good to arrive somewhere without personal damage and with genuine good will but it is not the base for addressing the most critical issues of our time.”
Yesterday the political parties were welcomed onto the upper Marae at Waitangi. Jacinda Ardern took the occasion to give a stock take of what the Government was doing to address Iwi concerns, Andrew Little gave his speech totally in te reo, and Simon Bridges chose to use the opportunity to politic.
It was sure refreshing to see the current head of the National Party saying on Waitangi Day that teaching of New Zealand history should be compulsory in the New Zealand curriculum.
By engaging with and showing respect for Ngapuhi Jacinda Ardern has transformed Waitangi Day from a day of dissent to a day of celebration.
This is a new day for politics in New Zealand. A female Prime Minister has broken over a century of practise and is doing a main speech at Waitangi. Even more: no drama occurred. Anywhere.
Australia Day (January 26th), like Waitangi Day (February 6th) often divides our countries as much in its silence as anything else.
A guest post from Enzo Giordani’s outlining his personal experience of the latest Waitangi day celebrations at Waitangi.
Well the lead-up to Waitangi Day this year has certainly had its fair share of drama!
You can read Andrew Little’s thoughts on the day here: Andrew Little: Waitangi a day for all of us to come together
I don’t think it does a PM any harm to shut up and listen for a change instead of talking, but this does not seem to be possible for the Nats.
A broken promise is still a broken promise, no matter how often you explain it.
Advantage asks why is Waitangi Day not treated the same as Anzac day?
From the archives.
The coward John Key will not now be going to Waitangi. He’s far too scared to find out directly how his sovereignty sell out has been received by Kiwis.
Bryce Edwards has a useful roundup of the goings on at Waitangi.
The Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has reported back on David Clark’s Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, with the National majority recommending it not be passed. The bill will now go back before the House, where its fate will be in the hands of Peter Dunne. Will he vote for it or not?
Why do we tolerate, indeed sometimes glorify, thoroughly toxic commentators and “media figures” in NZ? It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is, of course, that it’s all about the money…
David Shearer wants to move the New Year’s and Queen’s Birthday honours to Waitangi Day. I reckon that’s a goer. If honourees were advised ahead of time, they could attend a public ceremony at Waitangi, to add to all the other events. With thousands there, it would be a much more public celebration of their contributions to our society and bring a positive focus to the day.
While Key was away on his 4-week holiday in Hawaii, the world economy deteriorated, reports on the dire state of poverty in our country came out, and access to strategic resources became a pressing issue – both with our farmland being bought and Iran threatening to close off the globe’s oil supply. But Key was working on a plan – to stoke up racial dissent at home.
National’s honeymoon with Maori is well and truly over, as Key beats a hasty retreat from Waitangi.
A personal perspective on the Waitangi celebrations. Where John Key went wrong, how Hone was out and proud, and the left’s reception. Also: an enjoyment of Maori burgers over kai moana this year.
This year, as last year, we miss out on both Anzac and Waitangi days as holidays. And the Government refuses to do anything about it. Phil Goff and the EPMU back all workers getting their rightful public holidays like any other year – but John Key apparently doesn’t think it’s do-able, that it needs “research”.
This NAct government is so anti-worker that they have managed to re-arrange the calendar so that we get 5 fewer holidays in this government’s term than the last Labour one. And that’s before they sell off our 4th week.
