November 26th 2024: Te Tiriti

We may never know if David Seymour was actually hoping to sow the seeds of division with his proposed Treaty Principles Bill, but if last Tuesday's final stanza of the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti is anything to go by then he did not succeed.

I was lucky enough to be in Wellington as the movement assembled at Waitangi Park early last Tuesday before 42,000-plus people marched to parliament grounds. It was not at all what I expected. The gathering included tamariki, Pākehā, rangatahi, kaumātua, and everyone in between. The vibe from start to finish was incredibly positive ... as if the battle had already been won in the six preceding days. There was music and singing and a real buzz that was fuelled by emotion, connection and a sense of unity. The crowd was reminded to elevate their mana by showing respect to parliament.

At Waitangi Park I met Jharone-Kade Paora Ruri, of Murupara, who carried a taiaha that he proudly told me belonged to Dame Whina Cooper. It hadn't touched the ground since leading her now famous Land Rights Hīkoi to parliament back in 1975. Together with the photo frames of tīpuna on display, the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

The whole march was so well orchestrated with not a single negative incident along the journey. The police, protesters and public moved in harmony. It was overwhelming up-beat and at times quite emotional. The central streets of Wellington came to a standstill as the procession advanced, but it was never viewed as a disturbance. One salon invited me to a vantage point on the second level where I watched the hīkoi move below their windows. Beside me their staff and customers were capturing the moments on their phones. There was a real sense that we were watching history unfold right before our eyes.

At parliament the mood continued – children, teenagers, Māori and Pākehā standing side-by-side, all 42,000-plus of them creating history. From the windows of parliament itself, tino rangatiratanga flags danced in the wind. By 2:30pm the crowd started to disperse and as they vacated parliament grounds they left it cleaner than when they arrived. It overwhelmingly felt like higher ground. I felt proud to be of Aotearoa New Zealand.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS While I was up in Wellington I did an interview about my latest book project with the legendary Kathryn Ryan for RNZ. If you missed it you can have a listen here at RNZ. Have you bought a copy for the pie lover in your life? You can do that here.