There is a long history of M\u0101ori protest in Aotearoa<\/a>. Since H\u014dne Heke P\u014dkai cut down the flagstaff across the water at Koror\u0101reka in the 1840s to the present day, M\u0101ori have continually asserted their rights. However, it hasn\u2019t always looked like protests do today. From Ng\u0101i Tahu petitions<\/a> to the biblically inspired vision of te Tiriti<\/a> by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana that led to Labour holding the M\u0101ori seats in parliament for 50 years, M\u0101ori protest has come in many forms over many generations.<\/p>\n In 1984, the h\u012bkoi to Waitangi<\/a> was a major event, being one of Robert Muldoon\u2019s last-gasp reactionary plays. My father was going up with many M\u0101ori church leaders to tautoko the kaupapa, and invited two of my uncles along. They were dressed well in their RSA blazers, one from serving in Malaysia and one from the M\u0101ori Battalion. But they were soon being jostled aggressively by the police, some of whom held pent-up anger from their work with the Springbok Tour and at Takaparawha (Bastion Point). My uncles had been sceptical of the protest movement. They knew of injustice, but it was a revelation for them to see the Crown manifesting its power in this manner, especially towards kuia and kaumatua. They were also shocked at the behaviour in what they had always believed was a sacred space.<\/p>\n The assumption became that this is the way Waitangi would always be: M\u0101ori and the Crown would gather and contest ideas and power, taking the nation\u2026 somewhere.<\/p>\n Aotearoa, though, is undergoing a fundamental shift. The M\u0101ori and iwi worldview is becoming embedded in this land, despite the best efforts of Seymour and company<\/a>. From The Warehouse selling out<\/a> of Matariki and Te Wiki o Te Reo merch to the failure of the treaty principles bill<\/a>, P\u0101keh\u0101 are entering into a phase where te Tiriti and te ao M\u0101ori are no longer things to be feared, but celebrated and uplifted.<\/p>\n The New Zealand legal system \u2013 the most powerful arbiter of our social norms \u2013 is also undergoing significant transformation. It is incorporating tikanga<\/a> in a real way. We are moving from the standard of common sense being that of the perspective of a man on a Clapham omnibus<\/a>, to that potentially of someone on a horse in Ruatoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tikanga is being taught in law schools<\/a>, which will embed this change for generations to come. Although the Paul Goldsmiths of the world might object<\/a>, it is still happening. There is robust evidence to support this incorporation, including the fact tikanga is anchored in the same legal standards<\/a> of fairness, reasonableness, good faith and proportionality that underpin all judicial reasoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is not a new development. In 1992, the Anglican church developed a new constitution<\/a> that incorporated what we now call co-governance. The three main cultural streams at the time \u2013 P\u0101keh\u0101, Pasifika and M\u0101ori \u2013 were given the ability to govern themselves according to their cultural understandings as an expression of te Tiriti.\u00a0<\/p>\n At first, M\u0101ori went to develop a range of written regulations similar to those used by P\u0101keh\u0101 Anglicans. Fortunately, the legal adviser at the time was Taihakurei Durie<\/a>, who was also the chair of the Waitangi Tribunal. He suggested that instead of adopting P\u0101keh\u0101 forms, M\u0101ori Anglicans should instead use tikanga to govern themselves \u2013 so we did.<\/p>\n It has been an interesting experience. At times, it has appeared chaotic, inconsistent and counter-productive. The lack of clear, written and consistent rules has been a challenge to navigate. However, the genius of tikanga is that it is primarily about relationships, and the knowledge that without functional relationships, no form of governance can work. This has also allowed for us to express our culture as M\u0101ori at every level, for better or worse.<\/p>\nProtestors approach the rope line at Waitangi 2026. (Photo: Liam R\u0101tana).<\/p>\n
Haukainga prepare for the p\u014dwhiri for parliamentarians at the Upper Treaty Grounds on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Jason Dorday\/New Zealand Herald via Getty Images).<\/p>\n