Marutawhaorere Delamere (Whānau Apanui, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Maniapoto) says the growth of the tournament was proof that te reo Māori and te ao Māori continue to flourish. Photo: RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell
*This story was amended at 1pm on 20 May, 2025. See below for details.
Māori on the ground have vented their frustration at what they say is Māori MPs being punished for adhering to tikanga Māori in Te Whare Pāremata.
Only two days before Puni Reo Poitarawhiti, the country's largest te reo Māori only netball event, it was recommended three Te Pāti Māori MPs be temporarily suspended from Parliament for "acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House" after they performed a haka during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill.
Under the recommendation, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke would be suspended for seven days, while co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi would be "severely censured" and suspended for 21 days.
Suspension also meant those members would not receive a salary for that time.
The suspensions were recommendations from the Privileges Committee, and will come into force after a vote in be debated in Parliament on Tuesday, with all government MPs expected to vote in favour.
'Punished for their culture'
Puni Reo Poitarawhiti organiser Marutawhaorere Delamere (Whānau Apanui, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Maniapoto) said while it dampened his spirits to see Māori MPs suspended for embracing their tikanga, kaupapa like Puni Reo Poitarawhiti showed just how much te ao Māori continued to be celebrated.
"Kei te tino kai tērā i te ngākau i te kite atu i te ahurea Māori e whakaatu ana ki te ao, haunga anō a Aotearoa - me te kaha tāmi pea o tērā.
"No reira koira pea te tino kaupapa mō Puni Reo - kia kite atu i te ahurea Māori te whātoro atu ki ngā tamariki kāre pea e tino mau ana ki tērā ahurea, me te kite atu i te ātaahuatanga o te reo e taea ai te puāwai i te ao o te tamaiti, i te ao o te whānau.
"Koira pea te kaupapa nui me te whakaaro me pēhea te uru atu i te reo ki ngā kāinga, i te mea kei te mōhio tātou koira pea te hua e kite ai i te kotahi miriona tāngata e kōrero Māori ana.
"He tino kāre i pai ki taku ngākau i tērā mahi. Engari he tino waimarie kua whai wāhi tonu te kaupapa nei - haunga te kāwanatanga o ia rā, o ia rā, kei te aruaru tonu ngā mahi."
It really dampens my spirit to see that happen. Meanwhile at kaupapa like this you can clearly see the beauty of our culture celebrated - it's not just celebrated here; our culture is revered around the world. Globally people are fascinated, and then things like that happen.
The good thing though is we are resilient people, and we have a generation of young people being placed into environments like this, being raised to understand the mana and beauty of their culture. Kaupapa like this will continue regardless. Out here on the ground we are actively finding ways to revitalise and maintain our language, and I'm confident we will get to the goal of 1 million people speaking our language soon.
You've got generations coming through who are unapologetically Māori and who are smarter and more intelligent as a result.
It's so disappointing to see people punished for their culture, but governments come and go - this isn't the first time to try and stamp out our culture, and it won't be the last.
Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan (Waikato Ngāti Mahuta, Te Ahiwaru) who helped champion Puni Reo Poitarawhiti at the 2025 event. Photo: RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell
Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan (Waikato Ngāti Mahuta, Te Ahiwaru), who championed the kaupapa alongside her husband Eruera (Eru) Lee-Morgan in 2018, shared the same whakaaro as Delamere and said she was "disgusted" by the Privileges Committee's decision.
"Pukuriri katoa ahau, mātou ko tōku whānau i tērā āhuatanga, kei reira te tūmanako te hiahia ki te whakaora i te reo kia whakaora i ngā tikanga me kite tatou i tērā āhuatanga i ngā wāhi katoa i roto i te Pāremata hoki kua tae te wā kia uru atu o tātou tikanga, i tō tātou nei whenua i ngā tikanga, i te reo katoa."
My whānau and I were disgusted to see that happen. You see what's happening here and all around us - our people are doing everything they can to keep their language and culture alive. When you see something like that happen it makes you more determined. Who are they to tell us we cannot be who we are on our very own whenua? I say we as Māori need to start making it happen everywhere, and I encourage everyone to do so.
Rihi Te Nana at Puni Reo Poitarawhiti 2025. Photo: RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell
Rihi Te Nana, who has been working in the kaupapa Māori research space for over two decades, attended this year's Puni Reo Poitarawhiti to watch her mokopuna play. She said she was "sick" of the government's "constant racist attacks" on Māori, and that rangatahi were aware of what was happening and would respond at the ballot box.
"Kei te tino hōhā mātou ki te kāwanatanga o mātou kaikiritanga kia mātou ao noa po no.He wāhi haumaru ma mātou.
"Kia mātou nei taiohi me ngā whānau katoa kia kaha. He wa poto noaiho kei reira tērā pāti a te wa, ka haere tātou ki te pōti ae panaia atu pana atu i a ratou katoa."
We're sick of this government and its constant racist attacks on us night and day, it's relentless, places like this [tournament] are safe. Māori youth understand what's happening and they will vote, and I encourage them to vote. These parties have a finite amount of time in Parliament, and I firmly believe we will vote them out in the next election.
Taiwhanga Wichman-Kelly (left) alongside his mum and sister at Puni Reo Poitarawhiti 2025. Photo: RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell
Among the many supporters on the day was Taiwhanga Wichman-Kelly, a raukura of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kotuku. He was at this year's Puni Reo alongside his whānau to tautoko the kaupapa, his teina and fellow tauira.
Reflecting on the suspensions, he said it was both disheartening and infuriating to see Māori MPs be punished for who they were.
"Kei te pōuri me te pukuriri ano hoki. Nā runga i ngā āhuatanga o te whakahē i te tangata Māori i runga i tō tātou ake whenua - i konā i pouri ai te manawa, te ngākau."
I'm feeling sad and angry because of the way our people are condemned on our own land - that's why my heart and soul are heavy.
Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke interrupted the vote on the Treaty Principles Bill's first reading with a haka taken up by members of the opposition and people in the public gallery. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Privileges Committee said the issue was not the haka itself, but the way and timing it was performed - during a vote in the House.
"It is highly disorderly for members to interrupt a vote while it is being conducted," the committee said.
They also found the MPs knew they needed permission and did not have it.
"The threshold at which an interjection during a vote may be considered a contempt is where the interruption could be considered intimidatory."
Parliament will debate on Tuesday whether these suspensions handed down to Te Pāti Māori MPs should be adopted.
*This story was amended at 1pm on 20 May, 2025 to change the opening line from While tikanga Māori is being sanctioned in Te Whare Pāremata, te reo Māori is alive and thriving on the netball courts of Tāmaki Makaurau to Māori on the ground have vented their frustration at what they say is Māori MPs being punished for adhering to tikanga Māori in Te Whare Pāremata; and clarified the Te Pāti Māori MPs had not yet been suspended, with a vote still to take place on the proposed recommendations of the Privileges Committee.
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