File photo. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The Prime Minister has confirmed he will be hosted by Ngāi Tahu in Akaroa for Waitangi Day on Thursday.
In December, Christopher Luxon announced he would not be heading to Waitangi in Northland for this year's commemorations, as he wanted to move around the country to celebrate New Zealand's national day.
"It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around New Zealand. This year I am at Ōnuku marae near Akaroa," he said in a statement.
"Akaroa is very dear to me - it was a place I used to tear around with my brothers during the long, hot Canterbury summers. My children learned to swim under the Nor'West arch and I remember thinking then how very lucky we were to have the privilege of growing up in New Zealand."
The Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro will also attend alongside Luxon in the South Island.
Te Rūnganga o Ngāi Tahu in a statement said hundreds of people were expected to attend, and they were pleased Luxon and Dame Cindy had accepted their invitation.
They said Ōnuku and Takapūneke were places of significance for New Zealand.
"It was at Ōnuku on 30 May 1840 that Te Tiriti o Waitangi was first signed within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā. Later, in 1998, the Crown delivered its formal apology to Ngāi Tahu for breaches of Te Tiriti at this same location," chairperson Rik Tainui said.
"In 1820 Takapūneke was a thriving commercial trading post of national significance, operated by Ngāi Tahu. In 1830 our whānau living at Takapūneke were tragically massacred by a rival tribe supported by British Captain John Stewart on the Brig Elizabeth. It marked the beginning of British involvement in Māori tribal affairs and was a catalyst to the writing and signing of Te Tiriti ten years later."
He said Ōnuku, Ngāti Irakehu and Ngāi Tahu whānau would provide a hākari (feast), entertainment, market stalls, and activities for tamariki as part of the day's commemorations.
On Wednesday, all other political party leaders will descend on Waitangi for the annual political talks ahead of the dawn service the next morning.
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka will speak on behalf of the Prime Minister during the pōwhiri.
There has been a mixed response to Luxon not travelling to Northland with some iwi and hapu saying it was a good thing, while others believed the Prime Minister should be in Waitangi on the national day.
Waitangi National Trust chairperson, Pita Tipene, had been clear that he would have preferred Luxon attend and "be accountable for the position that he holds as the top executive in our government".
Former prime ministers Sir John Key, Sir Bill English, and Helen Clark also decided to stay away from Waitangi and Te Tii marae in the past over issues around speaking rights.
Since 2018, however, the political talks have moved away from the controversial Te Tii Marae and have been held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, which is seen as a more neutral environment.
The iwi chairs forum is being held at Waitangi on Monday and Tuesday, which government ministers and the Prime Minister have also traditionally attended.
Luxon met with some of the iwi leaders in Wellington late last year instead, and told them of his plans not to be there in February.
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