Thousands gathered across New Zealand yesterday to celebrate the signing of the country’s founding document and some called for an end to government policies that critics say erode the rights promised to the indigenous Maori population.
As the sun rose on the dawn service at Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs in 1840, some community leaders called on the government to honor promises made 185 years ago.
The call was repeated at peaceful rallies that drew several hundred people later in the day.
Photo: AP
“This government is attacking tangata whenua [indigenous people] on all fronts. Rolling back Maori representation, undermining our reo [language], our tikanga [customs], our tino rangatiratanga [self-determination],” Anaru Ryall, an activist with Tiriti Action Group Poneke, told the protest in the capital, Wellington.
Relations between the government and Maori have soured in the past 18 months, and some government ministers faced protests as they tried to address crowds in Waitangi on Wednesday.
The conservative government, elected in late 2023, has unwound policies and disbanded organizations aimed at improving the lives of Maori, who make up about 20 percent of the 5.3 million population.
Maori have higher levels of deprivation and incarceration, and worse health outcomes than the broader population.
The annual Waitangi Day celebrations, which also included free concerts, sporting events and panel debates, have long been used as a time of protest.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the New Zealand National Party spent the day with the Ngai Tahu people in the South Island, avoiding Waitangi where protesters heckled ministers last year. He said he wanted to celebrate with other people who had signed the treaty.
“Today is a time to reflect on where we have come from and look forward to where we are going together as a nation,” Luxon wrote on X.
In late last year, tens of thousands of New Zealanders took part in a nine-day march against the Treaty Principles Bill. The bill, which looks unlikely to secure enough support to become law, seeks to redefine how the treaty is interpreted.
The bill has been championed by the libertarian ACT Party, which agreed to support the National Party providing the law was introduced to parliament. It is currently being discussed by a parliamentary committee.
A record 300,000 submissions were made on the bill and hours of oral submissions are being worked through.
At the march in Wellington, Kahu Unahi said she was there to stand up for the rights of her family, her people and for her ancestors who fought to improve the plight of Maori.
“We have to keep representing tangata whenua [indigenous people],” the 39-year-old said.
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked yesterday, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said. He is to leave his post when his successor is appointed by April 10 at the latest, the statement said. Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993. Bar, meant to
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
The central Dutch city of Utrecht has installed a “fish doorbell” on a river lock that lets viewers of an online livestream alert authorities to fish being held up as they make their springtime migration to shallow spawning grounds. The idea is simple: An underwater camera at Utrecht’s Weerdsluis lock sends live footage to a Web site. When somebody watching the site sees a fish, they can click a button that sends a screenshot to organizers. When they see enough fish, they alert a water worker who opens the lock to let the fish swim through. Now in its fifth year, the
‘INCREDIBLY TROUBLESOME’: Hours after a judge questioned the legality of invoking a wartime power to deport immigrants, the president denied signing the proclamation The US on Friday said it was terminating the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them weeks to leave the country. US President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations. The order affects about 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the US under a scheme launched in October 2022 by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, and expanded in January the following year. They would lose their legal protection 30 days after the US Department of Homeland Security’s order is published in the Federal