Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki will be speaking at Waitangi tomorrow where he is expected to heavily criticise the government.
Brian Tamaki says as a Māori and Christian leader he has some powerful truths to share about the state of the nation. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Te Tai Tokerau Anglican Bishop Te Kitohi Pikaahu invited Tamaki to speak during the Interdenominational church service at Te Whare Rūnanga on the upper Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
He will be speaking alongside Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew and the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Philip Richardson.
Tamaki said as a Māori and Christian leader he had some powerful truths to share about the state of the nation.
He said it was clear that the negative and disproportionate statistics for Māori were an indictment on Aotearoa.
"This Labour-led government has locked their Māori MPs up, they only roll them out like show ponies when it suits and they have tried to control the outcomes for Māori.
"This oppressive colonial leadership, with a self-admission of institutional racism, has stifled and silenced the ambitions of all Māori," he said.
Tamaki said the government had tried to detract from horrendous Māori statistics with lolly scrambles using taxpayers' money during Waitangi week.
He said it was glaringly obvious that any true Māori cannot vote for Labour in the upcoming election, as they had done nothing to help Māori.
He added Māori have become second-class citizens, almost like refugees in their own country.
Last year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised to deliver for Māori, and this year her message is that the government is making good progress, but that's not the end of the road.
In her speech at Waitangi yesterday she highlighting figures from the government's efforts, like Māori unemployment, apprenticeships, te reo Māori in schools, getting whānau in public housing, and ended each with: "But there is more mahi to do."
Tamaki's comments follow Destiny Church's launch of their own political party last year, Vision New Zealand, with Brian Tamaki's wife, Hannah Tamaki as the face of the party.
The party was formally known as Coalition New Zealand, before the name was rejected by the Electoral Commission, due to the fact the name could cause confusion.
