RNZ
If Christopher Luxon hoped to avoid Waitangi Day controversy, it backfired
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will not attend the national Waitangi Day events at Waitangi next year, he has confirmed.
His confirmation followed a letter from Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti organisers on Thursday morning, telling Government ministers they were not welcome at any Waitangi Day events.
This was his only Waitangi event. Every other Parliamentary party leader attended the pōwhiri at Waitangi the previous day other than Te Pāti Māori’s leaders – who were there most of the week and left on Wednesday to attend the Tangihanga of Dame Iritana Te Rangi Ta Whiwhirangi.
Otago Daily Times
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Interest NZ
Dan Brunskill says much can be taken from Ngāi Tahu chairman Justin Tipa’s Waitangi Day speech about not getting bogged down in unnecessary ideological battles
Newsroom
Luxon urged to deal with division over Māori rights
Arriving at Ōnuku Marae, it was easy to see why Prime Minister Christopher Luxon chose the venue to mark Waitangi Day.
Kayakers paddled around Akaroa Harbour under clear blue skies, with the marae barely a stone’s throw from the shore.
Luxon’s decision to skip traditional events at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds this year sparked a considerably less tranquil response, with claims he was shying away from tough talk about the damage done to Māori-Crown relations under his government.
NZ Herald