Today marks 50 years since Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa and Whina Cooper’s historic land march arrived at Parliament, a defining moment in the fight for Māori land rights.

Te Pāti Māori President John Tamihere says the legacy of that movement lives on in the challenges Māori continue to face in politics and society.

He points to the reaction following newly sworn Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara’s maiden speech last week as a reflection of that legacy.

“The fact of the matter is that house is built on two cultures, Māori culture, and everybody else’s and in that house, our culture reigns as equal as anybody else’s culture… the infectiousness of the mana of those two sitting in the house sparked our rejoicing, and that is a cultural right and a cultural entitlement,” says Tamihere.

He says Whina Cooper and other Māori leaders created flashpoints in history that continue to guide their movement.

“Every generation has to be mokopuna focus, and so every generation has left a better legacy. You know, these are giants on whom shoulders we stand,” says Tamihere