Government Meets Māori Amid Push to Change NZ Race Relations

Annual Rātana hui (meeting) a chance for dialogue.

A Maori person poses for a photograph ahead of the ANZAC Day parade in Sydney, Australia, on April 25, 2021. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Amidst growing unrest among Māori over what they see as divisive government policies and a possible attempt to rewrite the Treaty of Waitangi, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, along with a government delegation, have been welcomed to Rātana Pā (Rātana community) for the second major gathering of Māori leadership in a week.

Rātana is considered by some to be the start of the political year, and celebrates the Rātana Church’s late founder, Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana.

The Rātana movement is a church and pan-iwi (all iwi/tribes) political movement founded in 1925. It has historical links to the Labour Party after its founding prophet allied with former Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage in 1936.

Politicians from all parties are invited to speak on Māori issues, while Māori from across the country reply with their views.

Politicians Traditionally Attend

The government chose not to attend a hui (meeting) called by King Tuheitia, the Māori King, at Turangawaewae last weekend, which drew around 10,000 people from all over the country. But since the annual Rātana gathering is one that has always been attended by politicians, it left Mr. Luxon and Mr. Peters little choice.