Heckles and fiery retorts as politicians speak at Waitangi

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon faced heckling from the crowd as he spoke at Waitangi today, where political leaders clashed over the Treaty amid calls for unity.

Luxon acknowledged the atmosphere surrounding Waitangi Day and conversations about the Treaty had sometimes been "very heated".

"Some people will take a different view of the Treaty to me. That's fine. We can manage our differences without tearing the house down," the PM said.

He outlined his Government's interpretation of the three Treaty articles..

"Honouring Article Two does not mean creating separate, disconnected systems for Māori and other New Zealanders. It does not mean a fractured public service," Luxon said at the 186th anniversary of the Treaty signing.

'Would've told him to shut up': Moment Winston Peters fires back at heckler - Watch on TVNZ+

"Honouring Article Two does mean devolution and responsibility."

The Prime Minister said: "New Zealand must continue to evolve in a way that empowers iwi and Maori while steadfastly protecting the unity of the country.

"Article Three must guarantee equality of opportunity. And while it cannot and should not guarantee equality of outcomes – because that is socialism – it's the endless work to make the starting line in life more equal."

He praised New Zealanders for working through differences with words and debate rather than violence, saying: "We settle them here, on the marae, and in our Parliament, with robust and sometimes passionate debate.

"We will continue to debate each other with the certainty that each and every one of us always will be New Zealanders."

Luxon paid tribute to the passing of paramount Ngāti Tūwharetoa chief Sir Tumu Te Heuheu and former prime minster Jim Bolger, crediting Bolger with starting Treaty settlements.

NZ First leader Winston Peters fired up in typical style against hecklers during his speech, emphasising that people such as himself had been attending Waitangi for more than 70 years.

"We didn't come here to be insulted. In fact, we didn't come here to talk about politics. There's 365 days a year. You got the Easter, you got the Christmas, and you got Waitangi.

"The other 362-plus you can spend on politics, but there's some young pup out there shouting because he doesn't know what day it is.

"In the old times, we'd tell them to shut up and not be here ... When you talk about tino rangatiratanga, it's the chief speaks his words, his gospel, not every Tom, Dick, and Harry."

Peters said he was hearing "jumped up stuff from second-rate university students and lecturers who think that they're gonna... read great history".

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson criticised the Government for "trampling over te ao Māori" while reaffirming her party's commitment to Treaty justice.

"I cannot stand here and be a statesperson if I am not telling the truth and acknowledging that with all the niceties that we exchange here, our people are feeling that this Government has continued to trample over te ao Māori, te Tiriti, taiao, and people who are struggling to just survive every single day," Davidson said.

She linked Treaty justice to broader issues, arguing te Tiriti was "the only way that we can achieve social justice and climate justice".

"As more and more people are struggling to find a home and papakāinga, as more and more whanau are not able to afford to put kai on the table, te Tiriti is about equity and unity and care and dignity for everyone."

Meanwhile, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said being a Māori MP was difficult regardless of the side of the House they sat on, acknowledging all MPs he has served with.

He particularly made mention of his departing colleague Peeni Henare, saying Labour's "hearts are heavy today". Hipkins noted successive governments had made progress on Treaty settlements but more work was needed on contemporary Treaty issues.

"The Treaty isn't a historical artefact. It's something that we still have to live up to today.

"It's a promise that we have all made to each other that we need to keep living up to, and we've still got more work to do there, and we're more likely to be able to do that when we come together and work together.

"It's election year. You probably won't see the best of that in the next few months, but however the election pans out, we have to be able to come together afterwards.

"I hope that the spirit of kotahitanga will be a bit more prevalent in the next Parliament than it has been in this one, because if we owe it to all of us to do a better job of finding a pathway forward together than what we have seen in recent times."

Hipkins concluded with a Native American whakatauki about two wolves – one representing hatred and division, the other unity and love. "The wolf that will win is the wolf that you feed," Hipkins said, looking ahead to the 2040 bicentennial of the Treaty.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the current Government was "nibbling like a sandfly" at the Treaty, adding in reference to his own party's ructions, "there is only one enemy before us, and it is not ourselves".

He cited an earlier speech by Eru Kapa-Kingi, who was critical of the party in the past year. "I can hear the anger and I can feel the pain. And the courage to stand before the people and say what you had to say."

Meanwhile, exiled Te Pāti Māori member and Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi stood to speak, saying: "Why wouldn't I stand? I was voted to stand.

"I am not going anywhere. I belong to you," she said, speaking to her electorate.

David Seymour told critics to "give us a break" over heckles from the crowd and claims the coalition Government had no care for Māori.

The ACT leader used his speech to defend the coalition's record and challenge what he called a "myopic drone" of negativity about New Zealand's history.

"We heard that our Government has no care or love for Māori," he said, adding that the annual ceremony was "proof of what we can do together as a country".

On the Treaty Principles Bill, Seymour said ruling it out or voting it down was "a pirate victory" – suggesting the battle wasn't over.

"There are many significant bills in our history that took a few goes through parliament before they passed and became the way that things always were. And I predicted to be the same with this one," Seymour said.

He highlighted the work of Children's Minister Karen Chhour, who he said was the first children's minister to visit all but one of 58 Oranga Tamariki facilities.

The ACT leader also pointed to charter schools, including Māori-governed schools, as examples of "tino rangatiratanga for all".