May 03, 2023
Coronation low priority for Crown-Māori Minister
Crown Māori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis says he’s happy to leave it to colleagues to make the haul to London for the coronation of King Charles III.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Opposition leader Chris Luxon are on their way to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony on Saturday night New Zealand time, along with leading New Zealanders like Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro, Kingi Tuheitia, Dame Naida Glavish and Willie Apiata VC.
Mr Davis says beyond the pomp and pageantry, his concern is the Treaty of Waitangi and how it fits in New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.
“I just really worry about if we do go to a republic, that it will be an excuse for people to try to do away with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, that’s my big concern, but that said I’m not too hot on the royal family. Good on them, they exist, they’re over there in England and it’s really for us to look after our own affairs in Aotearoa, that’s the way I see it,” he says.
Mr Davis says he’s happy just to go to the annual Koroneihana hui in Ngaruawahia.