The last 12 months have brought pressure, scrutiny and challenges to Te Pāti Māori and the movement.
Let’s be frank. Every other political movement in this country is dedicated to destroying us. The ecosystem the present ruling regime has built and applied relentlessly from the outset has ensured constant pressure. The attacks on Te Tiriti, the attacks on our reo, the personal attacks on our Co-Leaders and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke as they led fierce opposition, being called “scribbles”, being suspended from Parliament for being proud to be Māori, the list goes on.
Colonisation in 2026 is no different from its predecessors. It does not honour Māori success or Māori self-determination. It seeks to diminish our confidence, weaken our communities and limit our aspirations, because a strong and self-determining indigenous people has always challenged the colonial project.
So in the face of huge and relentless attacks on our leadership, difficulties occurred in the way we responded. That should surprise no one. In every Māori movement whether a Whānau Trust, Marae Trust, Whenua Trust, Incorporation, Rūnanga or political movement, pressure creates tension and division in the hope that someone surrenders their mana. No Māori has escaped internal difficulties in whānau, on our whenua or in the collective endeavours we build together.
Regardless, we advance towards this election with seven outstanding candidates in the seven Māori seats. We know we have the registered numbers to win eight seats, yet this ruling regime has denied us equality of opportunity before the law.
Colonisation 101 also relies on its media and press to reinforce its agenda. Day after day, they amplify Māori conflict, Māori failure and Māori controversy, while too often ignoring Māori achievement, Māori leadership and Māori success. Over time, that relentless barrage is designed to erode belief, causing our own people to question those who stand unapologetically for them.
This is why we must constantly renew our belief in ourselves, our culture, our reo and our whenua. The only people who can surrender that belief are you and I.
When something is needed and it does not yet exist, someone has to invest in it. Above all, someone has to believe in it first.
Our ancestors did more than survive, they ensured that every generation after them could stand, fight and believe. We will do the same.
Te Pāti Māori is the only political party in Aotearoa that is 100 percent Māori owned and 100 percent Māori governed.
What is it that makes every other political party, including Labour and the Greens, fear us and want us removed from the parliamentary conversation of our own nation?
Why does speaking the unapologetic truth of our whakapapa unsettle even some of our own people?
So in difficult moments, never lose belief in yourself, belief in your whakapapa, belief in your responsibility to our mokopuna and belief in our movement.
The only person who can cancel you or your whakapapa is you. That happens the moment you stop believing in yourself and your ability to bring change.
Believe in Te Pāti Māori. Our future has never belonged to anyone else, it belongs to us.
This Opinion Piece was first published on the authors social media. Waatea welcomes opinions of all types – send yours to news@waateanews.com for review.
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