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It looks like Prime Minister John Key will we welcomed on te Te Tii Marae at Waitangi on Friday, despite divisions in Ngapuhi about him turning up immediately after signing New Zealand on to the Trans Pacific Partnership.
Mr Key said he has received a formal invitation with usual and full speaking rights and intends to go, unless he is physically blocked by protesters.
Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis welcomed the decision, saying Mr Key wouldn't want to be known as Hone Kiore – the rat abandoning the sinking ship.
He says despite a vote at yesterday's hui at the marae not to let the prime minister on, the right decision was made by marae trustees.
"I was in the group that said 'welcome him on.' It's probably the one and only chance Maori will have to express their views directly to the prime minister, to put questions to him, to drill down to some of the finer details, so I said 'bring him on,' Mr Davis says.
He says the only thing the hui could agree on was that everyone there was opposed to the TPPA
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