NZ Leaders Heckled, Booed Over Proposal to Change Race-Based Laws

Booing and singing over government speakers has characterised the first morning at Waitangi, the official celebration of New Zealand’s national day.

NZ First leader Winston Peters speaks at Te Whare Rūnanga during a pōwhiri in Waitangi, New Zealand on Feb. 5, 2024. The Waitangi Day national holiday celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi on Feb. 6, 1840 by Maori chiefs and the British Crown, that granted the Maori people the rights of British Citizens and ownership of their lands and other properties. Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has departed an annual Maori traditional meeting early after being booed and heckled during a speech in Northland, while his coalition counterpart also faced jeers from the audience.

Mr. Peters told reporters he was raised in a time when speakers were always shown respect on the “marae” meeting ground, but that he hadn’t been shown any.