NZ Leaders Face Frosty Reception Amid Moves to Cancel Distinct Indigenous Legal Rights

As government leaders and Māori meet, anger and resentment about a proposal to possibly change the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi boils over.
NZ Leaders Face Frosty Reception Amid Moves to Cancel Distinct Indigenous Legal Rights
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Aug. 16, 2024. Tracey Nearmy/Pool/Getty Images
Rex Widerstrom
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Senior New Zealand government figures met head-to-head on Aug. 19 with a pan-Māori movement, inexorably opposed to its efforts to end what it sees as special treatment on the basis of race.

Although there is sometimes disagreement between—and even within—tribes on political issues, they appear united against a government which has, since taking office, taken an axe to several agencies charged with delivery of services exclusive to Māori.