Prime Minister Christopher Luxon accepts the wero (challenge) at Waitangi Treaty Grounds on 5 February 2024. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The kaumatua behind the annual Waitangi Day commemorations on the Treaty Grounds says the government is missing an opportunity to build nationhood.
On Thursday, Christopher Luxon announced he would not turn up for the annual commemorations in early February, instead attending events elsewhere.
Waitangi National Trust chair Pita Tipene told Morning Report the PM had called him personally on Thursday afternoon to let him know of his decision.
Tipene said he was "very disappointed" with the decision.
"I really wanted to see the Prime Minister come to Waitangi.
"The Treaty of Waitangi was signed between kawanatanga - government - and rangatiratanga - the hapu and iwi of the country.
"The Prime Minister is the head of the government. Other representatives can come to Waitangi, but he is the number one ... and therefore I was really looking forward to having him there and being part of those festivities."
Tipene said there were a "range of feelings" among local hapu about the presence of government MPs at Waitangi.
"There's a strong feeling up here that the people don't want the prime minister or the government to come here at all."
Yesterday, te hīkoi mō te Tiriti organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi said he was not a fan of any coalition government representative making an appearance and Luxon's absence from Waitangi was a "good first step".
"But [he should] realise behind him stands a wider anti-Māori regime, the others who have held up that regime should follow his example."
Many Māori were "fed up" with MPs using Waitangi Day commemorations to "effectively hijack the essence of the kaupapa as a stage for empty political promises", Kapa-Kingi said.
But Tipene said as the custodians of the Treaty Grounds, the Waitangi National Trust wanted everyone to feel welcome, "that they can come to Waitangi and be part of the constitutional basis of this country, and to remember our past and to keep looking forward into the future at our nationhood".
This was particularly important as the country was approaching the bicentennial of the Treaty signing on 6 February 1840, he said.
ACT leader David Seymour accepts the wero (challenge) from several waiwero (warriors) at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on 5 February 2024. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Seymour coming to Waitangi
Morning Report host Ingrid Hipkiss pointed out that other political leaders had given Waitangi a miss in the past.
This time was different, Tipene said.
"At the moment we're debating and discussing the Treaty Principles Bill ... The conversation needs to be ongoing. If the Prime Minister's not going to be there, it's not a good thing as we work through the [Bill]."
Tipene had spoken to ACT leader - and proponent of the Bill - David Seymour, who had committed to attending Waitangi next year.
"It's great that he's coming. As heated and as challenging as it may get, we have to keep up those conversations and not stop talking with each other."
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