Thousands of protesters have gathered around the country to march against what they believe are racist policies being introduced by the new Government.
Te Pāti Māori called for the protests to coincide with the opening day of Parliament in response to the coalition's policies related to co-governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Speaking from the Wellington protest this morning, co-leader Rawiri Waititi told 1News it wasn't a protest, but an "activation".
“It’s about bringing our people together. This is about Aotearoa, what we’re doing now is we’re heading off to Parliament to make sure our voices are heard."
He was joined by hundreds of protesters, which he said showed people were mobilising.
"We stand in solidarity together, this is about Aotearoa. This is not just about Māori, this is about tangata whenua, this is about Tangata Tiriti and we’re going to make our voices heard loud and clear.
“It doesn’t matter if the government listens or not. Our people are activated, our people are ready and our people are ready to fight as we’ve done for 183 years."
Fellow Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told RNZ the protests were a sign of what was to come over the next three years.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Wellington, while others prepared to block off SH1 to send a message to the Government they won't tolerate their "racist policies". (Source: 1News)
The real intention was for communities to show up for each other and unite, she told Morning Report.
She said the protest action was necessary as part of Māori's strong culture of standing up for injustice.
The Government's focus should be on resolving the inequities facing Māori, based on solutions advanced by tangata whenua. Instead it was intent on "disbanding, disestablishing and showing a true disconnect with tangata whenua across the motu".
Ngarewa-Packer said it was not too early to show opposition because her party had had three years of listening to their policies on the Opposition benches.
"We have a government that has insulted and upset at least 20 percent of the population..."
New Zealand First and ACT had never tried to reach out and engage with Māori, she said.
She accused the parties now in government of perpetuating "racist carry-on" while they were in opposition and nothing had changed.
"Sadly, the Prime Minister and his government have exactly confirmed our worst fears. We have to kick back and push back."
The two politicians squared off on Breakfast to debate the ongoing protests against the Government’s policies related to co-governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. (Source: Breakfast)
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones said people had the right to protest, but said "democracy was celebrated on October 14th".
He described the protest action as "theatre".
"What I’m saying is on October 14th everyone voted," he said.
In Tauranga, around 500 people gathered to walk down State Highway 2 through Mount Maunganui, while in the Waikato, there were plans to block State Highway 1.
- additional reporting from RNZ
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