February 03, 2022
Treaty claim subside seen in Waitangi upheaval
A Te Tii Waitangi Marae kaumatua says this year’s reduced programme could give Ngāpuhi a chance to discuss what sort of treaty settlement it wants.
Rihari Dargaville says while other iwi are staying home and politicians, crown officials and diplomats are no-shows this year because of Covid-19, the hapū are the guardians of the Treaty of Waitangi still want to mark the day.
Covid protocols will apply, and with its outside taumata the marae is ideally placed to deal with the smaller numbers expected.
He says without the pressure of hosting the crown and other manuhiri, Ngāpuhi can take the time to look at the most recent settlement framework.
“It allows us now as the hapu groupings to sit down and have this conversation, this wānanga between ourselves collectively and see whether or not we can get wide majority support so we can move forward towards redress,” Mr Dargavlle says.