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| The 1,000km (621-mile) journey began nine days ago in New Zealand's far north. |
Thousands are converging on New Zealand's parliament to protest a contentious bill proposing changes to the nation's founding treaty between British colonizers and Māori.
Wellington’s hotels are fully booked, with up to 30,000 people anticipated at Tuesday's rally outside parliament.The demonstration concludes a nine-day hīkoi (peaceful march) that has traveled across the country, uniting Māori activists and supporters against the bill introduced by a junior member of the ruling coalition.
New Zealand is often regarded as a global leader in supporting Indigenous rights, but under the center-right government of Christopher Luxon, many fear these rights are now under threat.
They are trying to take our rights away, says Stan Lingman, who has both Māori and Swedish heritage and plans to join the rally. The hīkoi is for all New Zealanders – white, yellow, pink, blue. We will fight against this bill.
Stan’s wife, Pamela, says she’s marching for her mokos (grandchildren in Māori), emphasizing the need to protect their future.
At the heart of the issue is the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, a cornerstone of race relations in New Zealand. The controversial bill introduced by the ACT Party aims to legally define the principles of the treaty, which party leader David Seymour claims have fostered racial divisions rather than unity.
My Treaty Principles Bill says that all New Zealanders, regardless of when their ancestors arrived, deserve the same rights and dignity, says Seymour, who also has Māori ancestry. He argues that focusing on ancestry perpetuates prejudice and discrimination, a stance he sees as a big mistake.
Critics, however, accuse Seymour of creating unnecessary political strife with a bill unlikely to pass. Even Prime Minister Luxon, despite leading the coalition government, has labeled the bill divisive.
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| Watch: MP Leads Haka to Interrupt New Zealand Parliament |
The march has sparked a wide range of opinions, with some supporters of the government believing it has gone too far.
They Māori seem to want more and more, says Barbara Lecomte, a resident of Wellington’s coastal suburbs. New Zealand is now a cosmopolitan mix of different nationalities. We are all New Zealanders. I think we should work together and have equal rights.
However, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party), says equality remains elusive. We can’t live equally if the Indigenous people are living ‘less than,’” she asserts. She accuses the coalition government of attempting to divide a nation that has otherwise been a beacon of progress, calling the situation “really embarrassing.
The strength of opposition to the proposed bill has reached dramatic levels, with New Zealand’s parliament temporarily halted last week as MPs performed a *haka*—a traditional Māori dance—to protest the legislation. The moment, captured on video, quickly went viral.
To see it in parliament, in the highest house in Aotearoa, has sparked surprise, disappointment, and sadness,” says Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori. “In 2024, amid global extremes like Trumpism, it’s shocking that Māori are still enduring such challenges. It’s humiliating for the government, as New Zealand is usually seen as a progressive leader.
For those attending the rally, haka will play a central role. On Monday, organizers taught participants the moves and words of a specially prepared haka honoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi). Attendees eagerly practiced, reading lyrics from a large white sheet in preparation for the event.
This isn’t just any normal hīkoi—it’s the hīkoi of everybody, explains Rose Raharuhi Spicer, a grandmother from Te Hāpua, New Zealand’s northernmost settlement. She’s attended four hīkoi protests in her lifetime, including this one, bringing her children and grandchildren to defend their legacy. To alter [the treaty] is wrong, she says.
Nearby, Leah Land, a 26-year-old from Whangārei, carefully adds the finishing touches to her protest sign, which reads: Honour It, Don’t Edit It. As a Pākehā non-Māori I believe these sacred documents give me the right to live on this land, she says. The proposed bill is terrifying. The saddest part is that I, as a white person, will be fine—but my best friends are Māori, and I want Aotearoa New Zealand to remain a safe space for them.
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