Felix Desmarais: Govt felt the power of Māori at Waitangi

Analysis: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon could have seized the moment at Waitangi to prove his mana and mettle but instead only demonstrated his ability to read aloud, writes 1News digital political reporter Felix Desmarais.

The atmosphere at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds was electric ahead of the Government pōwhiri on Monday, beginning with a haunting hīkoi of white flags, led by renowned activist and artist Tame Iti.

The demonstrations continued with a line of signs, in the shape of Te Tiriti, bearing the words "toitū te tiriti" (uphold, honour the treaty), held by activists, lining the Government's entrance into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and towards the marae at Te Whare Rūnanga.

It's a confronting ritual for any Government to face but particularly so for this coalition Government, given the response to its Treaty Principles Bill, the use of te reo Māori in government departments and agencies' names and other te ao Māori related policies.

For several years, one of the first political images of the year has been the prime minister and opposition leader standing together at the Waitangi pōwhiri. It's often a striking image, that undermines the scenes we so often see from Question Time of politicians at loggerheads.

For some it may be oddly comforting to see that both Government and Opposition can come together in unity to acknowledge and honour the founding of the modern, post-colonial country. It suggests at the heart of it all, while our differences are great, great too are our similarities and the bonds that tie us together as a nation.

That pōwhiri was not so this year. The Government and Opposition parties came separately and even Te Pāti Māori came separately to other opposition parties.

Perhaps a very obvious metaphor - to some - of where we're at as a nation. Or just a change of itinerary for others (and a lot more pōwhiri for the gracious and patient Ngāpuhi hosts).

So the Labour and Greens pōwhiri on Saturday was a similarly mostly uneventful affair to the joint Government and Opposition pōwhiri in 2023. Perhaps that yesterday's pōwhiri was the Government alone only intensified the searing spotlight of te ao Māori today.

Chris Hipkins' speech from the paepae on Saturday pulled fewer punches than some of his other more recent contributions, and was received well, albeit with the knowledge no matter how much Labour has vowed to stand alongside Māori, it is no longer in government.

The former prime minister is likely wary of overexposure at this point, so soon after his tenure and the backlash on the former Labour Government. At Waitangi, he poked his head out of the shell as much as he could in the circumstances.

Hipkins had some firm and clear messages in his speech, saying what was good for Māori was good for all of New Zealand, and that while David Seymour did not speak for his iwi Ngāpuhi he also did not speak for non-Māori. But Hipkins was outshone in verve by Labour MP Peeni Henare and the outgoing Kelvin Davis.

Davis invoked a whakatauākī from the time of the Treaty signing that warned of "Pākehā spiders", while Henare referred to - not literally - lifting his gun.

It was provocative and would have offended some but it was a powerful message about the left's view of the Government.

Indeed, some Māori too feel Labour did not do enough for them in government, that it failed to use its political capital to make the change some on the left in particular desire.

I observed some real resentment on Monday in heckles to Henare while he was talking - and in the election we saw it in all Māori seats except for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti being swiped from Labour by Te Pāti Māori.

That is perhaps also why the crowd at the Opposition pōwhiri was meagre compared to Monday's turnout, but the turnout for the Government was, judging by the crowd's reaction to what was said, absolutely not due to an overwhelming support for the Government's policies.

Christopher Luxon, however, now enjoys the spotlight and primacy that comes with being the top dog. While coalition partners Winston Peters and David Seymour in their own ways caused scenes (to a varying degree of their own making), Luxon had a golden opportunity to show a leadership of nuance and sensitivity in his speech. The eyes of the nation were on him.

Instead, he essentially read aloud a re-heated stump speech from the election.

Asked about it after, he said he was following protocol, te reo speakers had preceded him in speaking from the heart on the paepae and he was there to talk about where New Zealand was going towards the year 2040.

That doesn't mean a leader cannot lead. That theme is a very broad remit. An agile leader with confidence and control could have delivered a call to the nation to address its concerns, reassure it, empower and inspire it. Lead it into 2040, starting with 2024.

Instead we were given lines such as:

"This Government will be relentlessly focused on improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every single one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this country. The struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of the previous government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left nothing to show for it except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a shrinking economy, and a lot of extra jobs in Wellington."

That could be a comment or speech from Luxon anywhere at anytime including during the election campaign.

He also said: "The pasts of every one of us are more than a lineage of ancestors recorded on a family tree or tūpuna on the wharenui walls. Our pasts are also the stories of what happened to our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents because those events have contributed in some way to who we are today."

This is a bizarre statement to make in a te ao Māori context, which highly values whakapapa and oral story-telling. It's like explaining roots to gardeners.

The speech was also peppered with basic te reo Māori words which he rarely employs in such a way or extent in other contexts.

A viral social media video also pointed out how some parts of the speech were similar to the one he gave one year ago at Waitangi as opposition leader.

It could suggest to some he simply is not listening, does not understand or does not care about the pain some Māori and their allies express over his Government's policies. In short, to some - and we can see this expressed in the news and social media - it communicates he is out of touch.

And then, today, on Waitangi Day, he refused to do any media interviews - although he did post a video to social media which repeated points from Monday's speech.

It is our national day, he is the prime minister, and he had nothing really new to say to his people?

All of this, on the precipice of an existential moment of reckoning for race relations in New Zealand.

But a big question for the opposition is, who can step into that vacuum? It will be difficult for Hipkins to shake the scent of the sixth Labour Government, though not impossible. But it will be hard to make an impact until he does. If he can't, it's time for someone else, with the question of exactly who looming over Labour.

But the preceding weeks to Waitangi have been wins for Labour without them even having to try, with discussions around race relations dominating due to the Government's policy programme.

Many on the right - including Maureen Pugh when I asked her about it the other day - may blame the media for that, but that fails to acknowledge the direct relationship between media interest and the public's interest. Crudely, if the public isn't watching, clicking or reading, the media's meagre resources will rarely be spent on it. So it's a cop out argument that denies and undermines the depth of feeling in the public.

Perhaps the Government needs to show they are listening by responding to that fear. This Government is "fixated" on "outcomes".

Luxon's bland, vague and generic reading aloud failed against its deliverable: lead a nation in a time of distress and worry.

I watched the Government pōwhiri on Monday, with Ngāpuhi's fierce wero (challenge) to it.

The ground shook with the stomps of mana whenua, demonstrating their great might and heart.

Not brought up in te ao Māori, I considered the greeting like that may well be conveyed upon all governments who enter the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

But then again, I didn’t remember it being like that last year.

And then a local said to me: "Wow, imagine what it would feel like to face that".

Fierce, I said.

“I wouldn’t want to be on that side,” they said.

“The power of Māori,” I thought out loud.

My new friend: “And let it be seen."

“Let them feel it.”

Perhaps they will.