Ngai Tuteāuru, Ngāpuhi

The birdsongs of the tūī, the kākā and the kererū, speak of the importance of diverse sounds and voices. They speak of the sweet cadences of different songs and melodies. They speak of the rhythms and tempos of life in Aotearoa. Ngā manu are the everpresent observers of our human gatherings, they are called as we are, to this whenua, and to this sacred place.

We have come here once again to the shores of Waitangi, to reflect on the past, to grapple with the present and to consider the future aspirations of our nation. But Waitangi day is most often a time to remember. To remember te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi 1840.

To remember the signatories, Māori and the Crown, and to remember their intention to unite in the spirit of partnership and mutual respect. However, as we know, the journey since then has been filled with struggles, conflicts and broken promises. We are faced with the reality that the good intentions of the past have yet to be fulfilled.

As we reflect on our checkered past, I am reminded of the prophetic, yet cautionary words of our tupuna repeated on occasions such as this. We have heard repeated on these grounds the words of Hone Heke, who understood Henry Williams determination that te Tiriti was a sacred covenant signed and agreed, in the presence of God. 

We have heard the words of Nopera Panakareao, who spoke of the substance and the shadow of the land, he lamented the change of hands, from Māori to the Crown. We have heard repeated the words of Mohi Tawhai at Mangungu, Hokianga, whose prophecy spoke of floating wood and sinking stones, he foretold that the fate of our words as tangata whenua would eventually dissipate. These and many more words have been spoken on this sacred ground.

The words of the prophet Micah speak powerfully to us today. Micah 6:6-8 is a passage that calls us to consider what God truly desires from us. When we look at this passage in the light of our national history and our call to reconciliation, it offers us a pathway to living in right relationship with one another. 

 In Micah 6:8, we receive the heart of what God requires: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah’s prophetic words give importance to three simple requirements of God; not burnt offerings, or rams and calves, not modern day material or technological offerings, but simply justice, mercy and humility. 

Te Pirimia, Rt Hn Christopher Luxon offered these words in his Waitangi address in 2024, he said, “We as modern New Zealand struggle to understand the intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty”.

Do these words resonate with those of us gathered here today?  When we hear the words of our tupuna recited again and again, is there uncertainty in their intentions and expectations? I believe they were certain, as are we.

We as Māori, as tangata whenua do not struggle to understand the expectations of our tupuna. We do not struggle to comprehend what their intentions were in signing te Tiriti. We do not struggle to grasp why they entered into partnership with the Crown. 

Our tupuna who were signatories to He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840, intended and expected to continue to exercise their tino rangatiratanga mo ake, ake, ake. 

Our tupuna intended and expected for their partner, the Crown, to act in good faith, to be just and fair in their dealings with Māori. Our tupuna, intended and expected that the generations to come would live in community with one another. That we would act with dignity, mana and respect toward one another. That we would act JUSTLY as God requires of us.

As we gather for this ecumenical service, we as representatives of the Christian Church in Aotearoa remember the inherited responsibilities and obligations of our missionary predecessors. Some of whom were architects and contributors to the shaping of te Tiriti, others of whom were influencers and advocates to the signing of te Tiriti.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition within the Christian Church of the need for truth-telling, for justice, for healing and reconciliation. To do justice in the context of Aotearoa means acknowledging the historical and ongoing injustices faced by Māori. These injustices are not abstract; they are real and present in the lives of Māori whānau and communities. 

We cannot claim to follow a gospel of justice while turning a blind eye to the inequities that persist in this land. 

Allistair Reece spoke of te Tiriti being like a marriage, that has its ups and downs like any partnership. But to renegotiate the terms of a marriage, usually requires both spouses to be at the tepu. But it seems our spouse, the Crown, has filed for divorce while we were blissfully unaware.

Te Pirimia in his address also stated and I quote, “We have unlimited potential, and everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country well positioned in the middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal democracy with well-established social institutions.”

Our unlimited potential to be successful as Māori, has limitations. The recent proposed bills attempt to redefine and erode the rights of Māori guaranteed by te Tiriti. The potential for Māori success in the face of racist legislation masquerading as equality for all, is impossible. We pray for the Justice Committee to love MERCY.

Our trade and economic position in the Asia Pacific region, is of little importance or consequence when ordinary, hard-working people of Aotearoa are struggling with a housing crisis and a rise in the cost of living. We pray for Government Ministers to love MERCY.

Our liberal democracy only works to benefit the people of Aotearoa, if the constitutional foundations of the nation, such as te Tiriti, are honoured and valued. Attempts to the contrary, threaten the very liberties that democracy seeks to protect. We pray for the Coalition Government to love MERCY.

Our well-established institutions are only viable when they are responsive to the needs of the people. Funding cuts to services for the most vulnerable of our people, economic disparities, and punitive approaches to justice, serve to further perpetuate inequities. We pray for the Public Service institutions to love MERCY.

Te Pirimia, concluded his address with these words; “This Waitangi Day, I renew this Government’s commitment to helping all New Zealanders, Māori and non-Māori, get ahead, and to giving all our children and grandchildren hope for a prosperous and secure future here in this great country.”

“A renewed commitment to helping Māori and non-Māori get ahead”, te Pirimia said. It is difficult to see where Māori and non-Māori have gotten ahead when significant disparities and inequities remain in education, health, housing and so on. It is difficult to know where the government’s commitments lie when one coalition partner continues to determine their directives.

If ever there was a time for HUMILITY and kindness, it is now. 

“A renewed commitment to giving all our tamariki and mokopuna hope for prosperity and security”, te Pirimia said. It is difficult to see where tamariki and mokopuna might feel hopeful when an estimated144,000 children in Aotearoa continue to experience material hardship or live in poverty. Prosperity and security may seem like a distant reality for some of us.

If ever there was a time for HUMILITY and kindness, it is now. 

We gather for hui ā motu across the country, year after year, to Koroneihana, to Ratana, and here to Waitangi. We listen intently to the politicians, perhaps expectant of a prophetic voice. But words, without meaningful action, can often become wistful, and like a feather are carried away by the wind. 

Even in the absence of action and change, we continue to return here ia tau, ia tau. We return faithfully and diligently to one another, to converse and to debate, in the hopes of transformative change, in the hopes of something more than rhetoric, in the hopes of real and meaningful change. 

I suggest the prophetic voice of our nation that we seek, is not always found in the speeches of politicians or church leaders for that matter. But perhaps it is best reflected in the everyday people of Aotearoa. The people, Māori and non-Māori, tangata whenua and tangata tiriti.

Perhaps it is heard in the catch-cries of the more than 40,000 of us who went on a hikoi/pilgrimage for justice. Or in the words of the 300,000 or more of us who made submissions for justice. And perhaps it is found in the hopes of those of us who want for the simple things in life, to provide for our whanau, to see our tamariki and mokopuna thrive, and to live peacefully. By the grace of God.

I leave you once again with these final words from the prophet Micah: particularly for our whanaunga ki Pōneke e hoa mā, “He aha tā Ihowa e rapu nei ki a koe, heoi anō ko te whakawā tika, ko te pai ki te tohu tangata, ko te whakaiti me te haere tahi i tōu Atua.” Mauriora e te iwi.