Former Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says the turmoil engulfing Parliament is creating an extraordinary political backdrop as Aotearoa heads towards the 2026 election.
Looking at Parliament from outside, Davidson says the past few weeks have appeared unusually chaotic, with a rapid succession of legislation, political manoeuvring and leadership drama dominating the headlines.
Among the developments has been the passage of the English Language Act 2026, formally recognising English as an official language of New Zealand. The legislation received Royal assent on August 6, putting English into law alongside the existing statutory recognition of te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
For Davidson, the move raises wider questions about political priorities and the continuing use of language and identity as political battlegrounds.
It comes as Parliament has also passed an expansion of citizens’ arrest powers.
Changes to the Crimes Act allow people to intervene to stop Crimes Act offences at any time of day, require those making an arrest to contact Police and follow Police instructions, and clarify that restraints and reasonable force can be used in certain circumstances. The Government says the changes are aimed particularly at strengthening the ability of retailers and security staff to respond to retail crime.
Political drama dominates the Beehive
Those legislative battles have unfolded against wider instability at Parliament, including debate around the future of MMP and political speculation surrounding the Government’s leadership.
Davidson sees the intensity of recent events as evidence of a political system increasingly focused on manoeuvring and election-year positioning.
From her perspective outside Parliament, the danger is that the noise coming out of Wellington can overshadow the everyday issues confronting whānau.
For Māori communities, those pressures include housing, poverty, healthcare, education, climate resilience and the protection of te reo Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori rights.
As Election 2026 approaches, Davidson’s focus remains on whether political decisions improve the lives of communities rather than simply dominate another news cycle.
Remembering a builder of Māori education
Amid the political turbulence, Davidson is also reflecting on the passing of Te Kepa Takataka-ō-Rangi Stirling, a pioneering figure in Māori education whose legacy stretches across generations.
Te Kepa, of Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Porou, died aged 88.
Almost 50 years ago, Te Kepa and his late wife Pani Takawhenua Waipapa Stirling began creating a Māori education pathway at Ngā Tapuwae College in Māngere, putting te reo Māori and tikanga Māori at the centre of learning for Māori students.
Their work developed into an immersion unit and ultimately Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae, becoming part of the wider movement that transformed Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori education in Aotearoa.
Te Kepa’s own journey took him from carpentry to the classroom. He retrained as a kaiako Māori in 1976 before joining Ngā Tapuwae College as a physical education and Māori language teacher. His influence would ultimately extend far beyond the school gates through the generations of tauira and whānau who followed.
His passing provides a powerful contrast to the political arguments currently playing out in Wellington.
While Parliament debates language, power and the direction of the country, the legacy of Te Kepa and Pani Stirling demonstrates what decades of grassroots Māori leadership can achieve — building institutions, strengthening te reo and tikanga, and creating pathways for generations of Māori tamariki.
Te Kepa will begin his final journey home to Te Whānau-a-Apanui on Tuesday, returning to Wairūrū Marae at Raukōkore. His nehu will take place at Moutara on Thursday.
For Davidson, the political turbulence of 2026 and the passing of one of Māori education’s pioneers offer two very different pictures of leadership.
One is playing out loudly inside Parliament.
The other can be measured in generations.
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