Incoming NZ Government Faces Nationwide Protests Over Conservative-Leaning Policies

The Maori Party is organising the protest.

(L-R) Winston Peters, leader of NZ First party, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the centre-right National Party, and David Seymour, leader of the libertarian-ACT New Zealand party, attend the signing of an agreement to form a three-party coalition government at Parliament in Wellington on Nov. 24, 2023. Marty Melville/AFP via Getty Images

Te Pati Maori, a New Zealand political party advocating for Maori rights, has organised nationwide rallies in the early morning to protest the incoming centre-right government.

The protest took place during the rush hours, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., local time, in at least 20 different locations across the country. Around 600 people, led by Te Pati Maori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, reportedly marched to the Parliament grounds in Wellington.

It caused significant disruption to the traffic in some areas, including Auckland’s motorway.

Te Pati Maori said they chose Dec. 5 to protest as it’s the opening of the parliament, where “all the MPs are required to swear an oath of allegiance to the King of England.”

The left-wing party, which was supported by the International Socialist Organisation, claimed that the pledge was “symbolic of the colonial power” and the “constraints that are placed on Maori MPs.”

“Maori owe no allegiance to the genocidal legacy of the British Empire,” they said in a press release on Dec. 1.

“There is no honour in the Crown. It is tainted with the blood of Indigenous nations, and its throne sits at the apex of global white supremacy.”

Police confirmed on Dec. 4 that they were preparing for the protests, with officers to be “highly visible across the roading network throughout the morning” and that put measures would be placed in some areas to deter any violent behaviours.

“Police recognise the right to peaceful protest and will be reminding protestors about lawful behaviour on our roads,” said Assistant Commissioner Sandrea Venables.

“Unlawful behaviour will result in enforcement action, either at the time or following the event.”

Those travelling to the airport or to any other time-sensitive commitment were advised to allow more time for their journey.

Disagreement Over Treaty Of Waitangi

Te Pati Maori has objected to the swathe of changes introduced by the new government, a three-way coalition government formed by the centre-right National, the libertarian ACT Party, and the nationalist New Zealand First Party.

One of the key policies in dispute includes the Coalition government’s plan to review the meanings of the treaty of Waitangi, a founding document signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs that was signed in 1840 to ensure Maori people were granted the same rights as British citizens.

The treaty has been at the centre of controversy because its Maori version has been reinterpreted to signify a “partnership” between the Crown and the Maori people, leading to the current “co-governance approach.”

This interpretation, however, wasn’t included in the wording of the English version, with critics arguing that it has led to a “distortion” of New Zealand rights.

Leader of the ACT party, David Seymour, campaigned for a referendum on co-governance, which he argued would create an unequal society by giving people different political rights based on their race.

The ACT also proposed a Treaty Principles Act, which seeks to redefine the meanings of the Treaty of Waitangi, potentially through a referendum.

It would interpret the Treaty principles as:

1. All citizens of New Zealand have the same political rights and duties.

2. All political authority comes from the people by democratic means.

3. New Zealand is a multi-ethnic liberal democracy where discrimination based on ethnicity is illegal.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon disagreed on a referendum but had cast his vote behind the ACT’s treaty bill.

The move has been met with fierce pushback from Te Pati Maori, which accused the government of attempting to “whitewash Aotearoa” and warned that if a referendum “ever does go ahead,” the government “must prepare for a Maori revolution.”

Te Pati Maori Opposes The Dismantling Of Maori Health Authority

The left-wing party has also decried the Coalition government’s plan to scrap the Maori Health Authority, arguing that the government has “condemned Maori to die seven years earlier than Pakeha,” a Maori-language term for white New Zealander.

Mr. Luxon has previously criticised the Maori Health Authority as divisive and ineffective as it created two separate systems on a national level, a result of the co-governance approach.

In January, he told AM that the previous Labor government, under the Maori Health Authority, hasn’t delivered improved health outcomes for Maori over the last five years.

He added that billions of dollars of health care money have been lost on “building mega bureaucracies in Wellington when we believe in localism and devolution and those closest to it should deploy it and actually deliver it.”

“I think Maori health organisations can actually deliver Maori health services a heck of a lot better than what the government can do centrally through Wellington,” he said, according to Newshub.

“So one system, one coherent system, innovation within it to target people on the basis of need, delivered through community organisations, [is] fully supportive of that. That’s about getting outcomes and that’s what I’m passionate about.”

Te Party Maori was also against the Coalition’s move to scrap the tough smoke free law to fund its tax cut.

The new government also plans to legislate English as the country’s primary official language, cease the push to rename New Zealand to “Aotearoa,” and end all COVID-19 mandates.

Rebecca Zhu contributed to this report.