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Dr Muriel Newman

Waitangi Day 2025


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“We should not think of ourselves as Maoris or pakehas, but rather as one people.”
– Labour Prime Minister Walter Nash, Waitangi Day 1960.

Waitangi Day was first officially commemorated in 1934, two years after the Treaty grounds were gifted to the nation by the Governor-General Lord Bledisloe.

During the 1940 centennial celebration of the signing of the Treaty, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage emphasised national unity and pride.

The 1960 Waitangi Day Act identified February 6 as a National Day of Thanksgiving in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty.

It wasn’t until 1973 that legislation was passed to make it a public holiday. The architect of the law change, Prime Minister Norman Kirk, recognised that New Zealand was now home to people from across the globe – all bound together by common citizenship and love of our country. To ensure the day belonged to everyone irrespective of race or heritage, he renamed it New Zealand Day.

At that first New Zealand Day commemoration on 6 February 1974, he said, “Our future will be what we make of it for ourselves. If we join together in a spirit of co-operation and mutual respect, everything is possible, nothing is beyond us. Let each New Zealand Day stand as a milestone before which we pause and review our efforts and refreshed, press on to build the future.”

Sadly, New Zealand Day was short lived. National Prime Minister Robert Muldoon changed it back to Waitangi Day in 1976, paving the way for it to become a day of grievance and division rather than a celebration of nationhood and unity.

Race, of course, is at the heart of the division within our society. From the earliest of times, different rights have been awarded by race – including a separate electoral roll for those identifying as Maori.

Temporary electoral measures were introduced in the 1860s to ensure Miners and Maori – both disenfranchised by the prevailing property requirements – could vote.

While the Miners’ temporary voting rights were abolished when all adult men got the right to vote in 1879, the Maori seats remained.  

However, as a leading constitutional expert, Canterbury University Law Professor Dr Philip Joseph explains, those seats now violate the law:

“The Maori seats contravene the principle of electoral equality – ‘one person, one vote, one value’. Representative democracies must avoid barriers for the representation of minorities. Maori confront no such barriers. In 1867, they did; they failed the property qualification and could not vote. But in 1893 New Zealand moved to a universal adult franchise under which all citizens had the right to vote. Maori are free to compete for parliamentary representation. There are no impediments. The retention of the Maori seats amounts to reverse or indirect discrimination. There is no justification for the difference in treatment.

“For the courts, a discriminatory benefit on racial or ethnic grounds is as unlawful as a discriminatory disadvantage: Discrimination means differential treatment denoting failure to treat all persons equally where there is no reasonable distinction to justify different treatment. The discrimination may be positive, such as conferring a benefit, or negative by imposing a restriction.

“Preferential treatment on grounds of race or ethnicity is discriminatory and ethically wrong. To discriminate on those grounds deeply offends the right to equality of treatment under New Zealand’s human rights legislation”.

The discriminatory impact of the Maori seats is increasing. Not only have the seven Maori seats been radicalised, but with over 30 percent of MPs in Parliament now identifying as Maori – in spite of Maori comprising only 13.2 percent of voters – it is clear they have become an impediment to fair democratic representation.

While no Parliamentary party is currently promising a referendum on the future of the Maori seats, many have done so in the past. Whichever party steps up, is likely to receive considerable support.  

In the beginning, New Zealand’s racial division was based on blood quantum. The 1865 Native Lands Act defined Maori as those with 50 percent or more Maori ancestry: “Native shall mean an aboriginal Native of the Colony of New Zealand and shall include all half-castes and their descendants by Natives.”

But over the years the melding of our society into one glorious hotchpotch through rapid intermarriage resulted in a definition change in 1974.

This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator Michael Bassett, a former Labour Minister and backbench MP at that time, explains the background:

“For more than half a century after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, European migrants to New Zealand were disproportionately men. By the 1920s a substantial proportion of people with Maori ancestry also contained Pakeha blood. If a half caste Maori married another person with even less Maori blood – and huge numbers did – then by law their progeny lost the right to call themselves a Maori. That was what led to a law change in 1974. From the mid-seventies onwards, a Maori was ‘a person of the Maori race and any descendant’. Anyone with a drop of Maori blood could claim to be a Maori.

“Where these developments become farcical, however, is when persons who are largely Pakeha, as most Maori in this country are today, start calling those who have no Maori blood, ‘guests’, or ‘visitors’. The reality is that Maori Party loud mouths are only slightly less foreign than those of us with no Maori ancestry at all.”

As Dr Bassett says, from the mid-seventies, the division between races became increasingly farcical as someone with only a smidgeon of Maori blood could deny their majority non-Maori ancestry to claim an increasingly lucrative array of benefits available only to Maori.

The problem is that this farce, has now been weaponised by Maori sovereignty activists determined to seize control of our country. 

Those are the radical tribal separatists who believe “Aotearoa, should be in Maori hands” – including private property.

They are the ones working tirelessly, often within government institutions – and certainly within their Parliamentary Maori Seat power base – to further divide New Zealand along racial lines using culture and their fictional “Treaty partnership” to subvert democracy and gain political control.

In his chilling 1985 book Shadows Over New Zealand, the former unionist Geoff McDonald identified the use of Marxist strategies:

“Marxists understand that the key to destabilising New Zealand is to show how badly the Maori is treated by the whites. The big lie must be built up, until enough people believe it to enable the damage to be done. There is no Maori oppression at all. But that would not stop them from going ahead with their propaganda. Facts or truth have no relevance to Marxism. Anything can be said to help create the conditions amenable to the collapse of society. However absurd or grotesque the charges being made against white New Zealanders, if they are not answered, they will be believed.”

Their strategy is working.

Instead of long-term welfare dependency being seen as the main source of social dysfunction and entrenched poverty in New Zealand, tribal activists claim that for Maori, their problems are caused by racism.

Even though young people are traditionally over-represented in crime statistics, instead of the higher-than-average incarceration of Maori being seen as the result of their belonging to a far younger population cohort than other New Zealanders, tribal activists claim racism within the criminal justice system is to blame.

And instead of factors such as an inadequate diet, lack of exercise, drug and alcohol abuse, and smoking being seen as major contributors to poor health, tribal activists claim that for Maori, racism in the health system is responsible.

With claims of racism being increasingly manufactured by separatists to destabilise our society, it is frightening to reflect on just how close New Zealand came to becoming an apartheid nation.

If Labour had been re-elected in 2023, that would have been our fate.

With the framework for He Puapua – Labour’s blueprint to replace democracy with tribal rule by 2040 – largely in place, the unelected and unaccountable leaders of billion-dollar tribal empires, would, through the right of veto, be running the country.

Tribal totalitarianism would have replaced democracy.

We’d already experienced it in health, when the Maori Health Authority wasted no time at all in declaring race, instead of clinical need, was the key factor in determining treatment priorities.  

By now, tribal leaders would be in total control of water – with generous royalties flowing into tribal coffers whenever a Kiwi tap was turned on.

They would have already seized ownership of all public Conservation land – which makes up over a third of New Zealand’s land area.

But wait: although we’ve had a change in government and some of Labour’s racist policies have been reversed, the He Puapua juggernaut is still charging ahead giving tribal leaders increasing control of our country – including it appears, the Conservation Estate.

A Department of Conservation consultation paper on the future of the Conservation Estate indicates that a takeover by tribal interests is already underway.  

Presumably with the full support of the Coalition, the Department appears to want to give tribal leaders a controlling interest in decision-making in their proposed new legislation – as concerned New Zealander Fiona Mackenzie warns: “The Department of Conservation’s commitment to engage with iwi as ‘Treaty partners’ highlights the co-governance philosophy that has been so rapidly undermining our democracy and economic productivity.”

It’s imperative that the Coalition honours its election promise to stop He Puapua and co-governance.

All plans to give tribal groups greater powers than other New Zealanders – including over our Conservation Estate – should be scrapped.

With an election commitment to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law”, all legislation creating special rights for Maori should be regarded as discriminatory and unlawful.

That should also apply to the special provisions for Maori being created in the new Gene Technology Bill. Designed to update the way genetic modification is dealt with in this country, submissions on the Bill – see HERE – close February 17.

While concerns have been raised about labelling and food safety, the Bill – unbelievably – introduces a new Treaty “principle” in Clause 4: “This Act recognises and respects the Crown’s obligations under the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi…”

In spite of the Coalition’s pledge to remove Treaty “principles” from legislation, here they are creating new principles to give Maori greater rights than other New Zealanders!

This is co-governance – yet another example of He Puapua in action.

Does this signal the Coalition is now turning its back on its commitments to “Remove co-governance from the delivery of public services”, “Stop all work on He Puapua”, and “End race-based policies”?

Are those “commitments” more lies – like those we heard from Labour?

The point is this: Maori Supremacists are using race as a weapon to gain advantage over all other New Zealanders. Using the affirmative action provisions in the Human Rights Act, millionaire tribal leaders and their gravy train lawyers are peddling the disadvantage of anyone with a smidgeon of Maori blood, to fabricate claims of racial discrimination in order to gain race-based rights.

Isn’t it time this pipeline to endless appeasement through preferential treatment based on race, was closed down?

As we reflect on 185 years since the signing of the Treaty, we need to wake up to the uncomfortable reality that national unity and pride in our country are being undermined by tribal leaders. Driven by greed and self-interest, they are sabotaging race relations to destabilise society so they can seize control of the country.

The sooner the Coalition follows the lead of governments around the world and eliminates race and ethnicity from our Statute books, the sooner they can no longer be used as weapons to divide and conquer New Zealand.

Ironically it was Labour leaders like Walter Nash, Mick Savage and Norman Kirk who wanted Waitangi Day to be a day of celebration that belonged to everyone.

Instead, it has become a day of such hate and aggression that increasing numbers of New Zealanders are questioning whether we should be celebrating it at all.

If you are concerned about matters undergoing Parliamentary consultation, then please speak up. Politicians regard silence from the public as endorsement. They only recognise they are doing the wrong thing when they receive submissions and emails telling them so.

  • Submissions on the Coalition’s proposal to give tribal interest greater control of the Conservation Estate ends on February 28 – full the details can be found HERE.
  • A submission on DOC’s discussion document that has been prepared by Fiona Mackenzie can be viewed HERE.
  • Submissions on the Gene Technology Bill close on February 17 – full details on submissions and the Bill can be found HERE.
  • And if you would like to contact MPs or local Councillors to express your concerns, their email addresses can be found HERE.

To register for our free weekly newsletter please click HERE.

THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:

*Should Waitangi Day remain a public holiday?

 

*Poll comments are posted below.

 

*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.

 

Click to view x 120

THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS

This day has been captured by race based politics and no longer represents the wishes of the majorityGrant
If renamed New Zealand dayMiles
It divides our CountryWayne
If the name “NZ Day” is reinstated, then I would vote “Yes”John
But as New Zealand Day NOT Waitangi Day as that means nothing to me bar a day for Maori radical divisiveness.Steve
Ok if renamed to NZ dayDavid
This day has been hijacked by the activist and their agenda. Rename it NZ day once again a day for everyone to enjoy With no focus on the current negative Waitangi day by media and TV cameras.Nigel
Why does Maoridom, demand a holiday, for all that they demand to be SACRED to them only?They really do not like our culture…..THEY WANT US ALL GONE!David
Maori have completely blown it this year by not listening to speeches but claiming the high ground for their own views. We have a new generation of racists in this country now and we need a firm leader to stop it.Rod
It should be abolishedJohn
Nothing to celebrate at this stageMike
It should be renamed back to New Zealand Day and ang the existing division celebration removed from Waitangi forever.Vernon
The original intent should be honoured, not the racist radicalisation.John
If it is to be recognised as a celebration it must be renamed New Zealand day and not centred at Waitangi but throughout every city and town.Noeline
No, we are all one in this country, Maori culture is no better than all the many others.Ann
End He Puapua. Abolish Maori seats forthwith. Conservation seats to remain in the hands of the Government not Iwi. Wipe Waitangi Day completely it is a national disgrace, an expression of Greed, contention, racial hatred and intimidation. Get this Coalition off its backside to vote enthusiastically to endorse and pass the Treaty Principles Bill. Time is of the essence Radical Tribalized control of Government is an abomination and MUST BE STOPPED DEAD>>>>RIGHT NOW!Marshal
its been abused too muchGraeme
But rename NZ day once race has been removed from statutes and laws.Brenda
It’s just an excuse for abuse, vitriol and hatred toward Govt and anyone who is not Maori. It’s a racist outrage.Laurine
Should be New Zealand dayJimmy
Absolutely NOT.Valerie
It’s not a day to be proud of now. Too many people behaving badlyPeter
Ask anyone Waitangi means nothing to them apart from a day off. The main concern here is where our country is heading and under the current coalition it appears cogovernance is alive and well and will be entrenched well before 2040Lawrie
New Zealand day brought backIan
Muldoon was responsible for many things which damaged this country, with the loss of New Zealand Day being the worst!Mike
it is fast becoming a day celebrating racial disharmonyLes W
Abolish this now useless occasion. It is only a opportunity for these radicals to show off and apply abuse to everybody else.Michael
Not as it is a day of grievance. Bring back New Zealand Day and the spirit of Norman Kirk. We are a multi-cultural society.Doug
name change also.Graham
But it should be renamed New Zealand day.Alan
Waitangi Day is being abused by some: Waitangi Day seems to be for protesting Maori intent on control of New Zealand while deliberately turning their backs on anyone with another opinion – the opinion to “maintain New Zealand as One Country under One People with One Flag OTHERWISE this country could rapidly revert to (historical Tribal Wars and potentially their practiced cannibalism!Stuart
Dump it. Its nothing but troubleGilbert
Renamed as New Zealand Day with Waitangi based celebrations to cease.Roger
But the day should be renamed New Zealand dayLeslie
If Feb 3 is to remain a public holiday, the name should revert to New Zealand DayGeoffrey
Rip up the “Treaty” and enforce full Democratic Laws.Steve
it is increasingly becoming one sided and failing as an “all New Zealander celebration”Phil
Yes should remain as holiday but all politicians should forget going to Waitangi it’s just an excuse for the redicals to get tv coverageMark
New Zealand OR a National Day Parades of the country’s servers like the July14 2 hours parade in Paris. Celebrating growth of the country.Lyn
Should be renamed New Zealand Day.Ron
What’s Waitangi Day nowadays? Should be abolished.Simon
We must not celebrate apartheidLeonard
We have a large number of public holidays, perhaps Matariki could replace Waitangi Day which is currently Maori grievance day.Terry
This Day of Division needs to be closed down and it will save the tax payer millions and thus help the economy. NZ needs to be united under ONE flag, ONE parliament, EQUAL rights for all. This Waitangi Cancer needs to placed into remission.Eileen
Yes keep the holiday but change the name.Kim
If it remains a holiday call in New Zealand Day.Chris
not when it is about divisionCollin
should only remain as New Zealand dayHoward
But, change the name back to New Zealand Day.pdm
Unless it’s changed to NZ day and held somewhere else. My family have been in NZ 8 generations with no Maori bloodLGF
Rather make it New Zealand Daymike
It is a day of ugly tribalism with an unpleasant undercurrent of menace. NOT a National Day.Trevor
Waitangi day as it is now, is just an outing for radical (racist) Maori to abuse our elected politicians. They show no respect to our countries leaders.Peter
Yes But it should be renamed New Zealand day.T
I would like to it renamed NewZealand Day as it was . A day to be proud of not as it has becomeRod
Not while it is simply a vehicle for the warped views of a small number of Maori militantsgeorge
It has become too divisive. We should have a public holiday on a different day, to celebrate our nationhood, similar to Australia day.Rod
It needs to be New Zealand Day – nations need to celebrate their nationhood. The problem today is Waitangi Day has been totally politicised.john
To celebrate the sucess of being one nation and the commitment to greater success by all working together for the benefit of all.Raymond
Stop racism now!!!Ronald
Conditional only if returned to New Zealand Day and NOT held at Waitangi.Steve
We have too many public holidays for our economy to cope with as it is. How about taxpayers also expect politicians to stop funding activism based behaviour in our community and start working harder on economic growth (job creation) instead of welfare virtue signalling. If a beneficiary is able to spend taxpayers money to protest against the very taxpayer who supports them, the system is broken and needs fixing. Waitangi day seems to have become the opposite of what it is supposed to represent- unity.Andrew
It has no meaning for meMary
Removing its status as a public holiday, would not change the way in which it is being used by radical people to advance their agenda. Worse, the decision would give them a huge weapon with which to support their mission.tony
Means nothing but abuse of pakeha snd indocrination young people against kiwis The cost of lost school and work time is hugeBeverley
There is no longer a reason to celebrate. It has become a day for corporate iwi to glorify hatred and division. I want no part of it.Robyn
There is nothing other than racial division to celebrate here and who in their right ‘Democratic’ mind needs a ‘Holiday’ to celebrate that! Totally bizarreDick
If it was returned to New Zealand day well yesDuncan
Waitangi Day has become the official Maori protest day with appalling behaviour and severe disrespect as key features. What is there to celebrate? Disunity and the you done me wrong song played continuously has a negative impact on the wellbeing of the entire nation.Sharon
Yes but not the way it is currentlyTerry
Consign to the pastArthur
But Kings birthday public holiday should stop.Lex
It should be renamed New Zealand day and be celebrated by all the people in New Zealand. Get rid of Matariki and then make New Zealand day a National holiday againPeter
If it’s not a celebration anymore and just an event for radical protesters all funding should stop along with the public holiday.James
No, not if we have to put up with a divided country because of it.Chris
only if they rename it New Zealand daylinda
Waitangi day has been eroded to the point of being just another day for activists to speak of allegded discrimination.Mark
Change to New Zealand DaySax
It’s just a day of racial hatred against white nzers and a tax payer fed platform of gluttony, savagery, and a celebration of their cannibalistic origins.Koreen
No problem with it staying a public holiday but only if the reason for it is to unify the country. Otherwise delete it.antoni
It is divisive and gives Maori a platform to air their grievances. If the name was changed to New Zealand day and become a day If celebration for ALL New Zealanders then I would have said yesMargaret
However we must cease to use the day to give Maori radicals another platform to vent their form of racist hatred and political sovereignty goals.Mike
Yes, it is nice to have a day off but the whole going up to Waitangi needs to stop. New Zealand Day is much better. Kelly
The word Holiday comes from the words Holy Day – dont think it applies to the 6th of FebJane
But change the name to Invasion Day; to wind the racists up.Robert
Get rid of it altogether and save the money that we all pay towards it. Would be better spent on a new prison in Waitangi.Des
Definitely not.Lee
I feel it has passed its use-by-date. If we have a special holiday it should be New Zealand Day; a celebration of all things and all people of New Zealand. What we have currently is just a source of disharmony, violence and misinformation.Lauree
No way, this day is nothing to be proud of. Get rid of it, pick another date and make NZ Day. 1 people 1 country in harmaneJohn
It should revert back to New Zealand DayChris
Not in its current format, there be should be a day to celebrate our country’s diversity, which encourages forward thinking and not dwelling on the past.Rob
This has become a never ending weapon for political advantage by Maori radicals. It is continuous devision that needs to find a solution.William
But it should revert to New Zealand day and take the Maori radicalism out of it.Gerry
Start a New Zealand Day on a new date. Not 6 Feb.RICHard
Not if all it does is give a minority of the public the right to abuse and treat our Nations leaders with total disrespect.Mike
BUT the name of the day should be New Zealand Day and celebrated throughout the country NOT only at Waitangi and other Maori places. The current Waitangi Day has been taken over by Maori and become meaningless to most New ZealandersWarwick
If a change is needed it should revert to being New Zealand DaySue
With all the protesting and abuse thrown at polititions and white people it is a disgrace and should be consigned to historycolin
No not unless it’s changed to New Zealand Day it’s become a joke costing millions for what ?Peter
National cringe dayKaren
If it is New Zealand ok but not the current day of apartheid with Maori anti white aggression and sense of entitlementAlexandra
I just hope someone reads these commentsJane
Name should be changed back to New Zealand Day, for all of us to celebrate. As it is it is only relevant to the Maori grievance industry,Graeme
Rename it New Zealand Day, as it used to be known. Turn our backs to the Waitangi antics, which are negative and increasingly irrelevant.Barry
No we need a NZ Day in the middle of the yearCarol
Bin it.Evans
Unfortunately the day has become more and more about aggressive confrontation and pursuing a racist agenda. Let’s put a stop to it.Brian
It’s now just a celebration of the gravy train for Maori tribil eleat, bring back New Zealand day.Bruce
Only if the govt starts to treat all NZers as equal citizensLiz
BUT this He Pua Pua thing should be reigned in and stoppedFrank
No it has become “Division” or “Grievance” Day. Enough.Kevin
and whilst at it matariki day should be gone as well.New Zealand day for me.Brian
But renamed NEW ZEALAND DAY.Richard
Waitangi Day has been weaponised by Maori Supremists to be a platform for division, separation and blackmail.Murray
But change the name to New Zealand Day.Brenton
I’m part Maori yesSamuel
No longer relevant for me.Paul
when memorials fade away or lapse, we lose another portion of our historyGraeme
I celebrate Waitangi Day, not IN SPITE of differences between Maori and the colonisers – but BECAUSE of differences resolved : We are truly “One People”. Waitangi Day is truly our national New Zealand DayAndyE
Its a very important part of NZ’s history and we have uphold its significance in our country.Pavithra
Pick another day and we name it New Zealand dayTim
This day means nothing to me as it is not a celebration for all New Zeaanders!Margaret
So long as it is only a recognition of the original intent of the treaty. It is a part of New Zealand. Not a political statement trying to validate radical Maori.John
Grievance day! Nothing to celebrate because of the way the fake Maoris have spoilt race relations, and are absolutely insulting Maori culture, and all the rest of the people who have some Maori ancestry.Leonie
It has outlived it’s usefulness and is more divisive than unifyingBill
Whytangi Day has become a symbol of division, not unity, in this nation. It needs to be abolished, along with Matariki. It is a sad reflection on the day that Norman Kirk had hoped it would be — one of togetherness and happiness. Now it is one of abuse and racism.Gavin
Not until all treaty-based ethnic divisiveness is banished from statute!Peter
I have always thought of it as a chance for Maoris to bleat and moan about how hard done by they are as a result of colonisation. Today Shane Jones said on the news that he had given the Waitangi Trust $10 million dollars. How much of that went on the celebrations? What will happen to the leftover money? If they feel hard done by as a result of colonisation I wonder how the Morioris felt??? Interesting how they have been written out of NZ’s history. It was genecide that out-did Hitler!Gerard
As it stands, I woud vote ‘No’. But I am an optimist and hope we can return to a national day of unity and celebrate ‘one people’ – New Zealanders. Rename it to New Zealand Day.Lindsay
Not only should it NOT be a public holiday, but all legislation that gives explicit recognition to the Treaty of Waitangi be repealed. The REAL New Zealand day date is actually the 3rd June, the day in 1841 that New Zealand officially became a standalone independent British Colony.neil
Certainly not. It has increasingly become a day of division, disrespect, disloyalty, dishonour, and disgusting behaviour. Bin it!Rodger
Unfortunately not, now it has been taken over by activists & causes nothing but envy & division.Lenice
No. What should be a day of celebration by all has degenerated into an ugly day of often overweight and pale skinned so-called Maori intimidating our mainly stupid politicians and their hangers-on to continuing their handouts and handovers to the tribal leaders.Alan
No – it should NOT be a public holiday any longer. All that we are doing is providing a platform for people trying to destroy our democracy. Repeal the law. Donald
Most Kiwis are sick of the grandstanding and abuse from Maori activists. If it was a true day for all New Zealanders, we could keep it as a public holiday. But the way are going it has become a disgrace and should be scrapped.Maurice
Most people like holidays so it should stay.Brenda
We should not have a public holiday to recognise activism and attempts to distort our history and undermine our democracy. Abolish it!Paul
Keep the day of recognition of the signing of the Treaty but remove the holiday – we have too many public holidays in this country as it is.Stuart