Rātana: Māori willing to work with any political party, says Kiingitanga's Rahui Papa

Kiingitanga representative Rahui Papa says the coalition has done some good, but has been challenging for Māori - and that sometimes the Crown should not be involved.

He says Māori will be willing to work with any political party, no matter the colour.

Politicians were welcomed to Rātana Pa with a pōwhiri this afternoon.

Papa says with an election date of 7 November, Māori will be listening to what parties say about what is best for them.

He pointed out the irony that the day after the election - 8 November - was the same date Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana received his vision.

He says Māori have had their ear to the ground on economics, but emphasises the value of mana motuhake and families supporting one another at home.

The Māori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po was welcomed to Rātana with a powhiri this morning, ahead of political parties arriving.

Sitting beside her was Te Rangimaheu Te Heuheu, the new Ariki of Ngati Tuwharetoa, making his first visit to Ratana since the passing of his father Sir Tumu te Heuheu in September, aged 84.

Speaking to media, Waikato-Tainui leader Tuku Morgan said the relationship between the Crown and Māori had become "pretty fractured" under the current government.

He said Māori now had a "greater sense of urgency" to find creative ways to work together.

"When you're pushed into a corner, and when you're marginalised and minimised they way we have been... it makes us much more united in our view to find innovative ways to survive in the long term."

Morgan pointed to the Māori Queen's new business investment platform - the "'Kotahitanga Fund" - as an example of that innovation. The multimillion-dollar venture would provide funding for Māori entrepreneurs and businesses.

"We can't rely on the Crown to do everything for us. That is a fallacy," he said. "Despair is not an option."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi are both absent, surveying damage and helping local communities after the recent storms.

Tama Potaka and Nicola Willis are representing National.

They are attending along with Labour leader Chris Hipkins and members of the Greens, New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori.

MPs speaking at Rātana

Labour leader Chris Hipkins told reporters the prime minister had made the "right decision" to skip the commemorations to instead visit weather-hit communities.

"It is the right place for him to be at the moment," Hipkins said.

"I do want to extend, on behalf of the Labour Party, our thoughts to... those who have tragically lost loved ones, those who are still uncertain about what's going on, those who have had to leave their homes."

Speaking at Rātana, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told RNZ her own Te Pāti Māori colleagues had also stayed in their electorates to support those affected.

"My message to them was: you're not to leave your people."

Ngarewa-Packer says the leader of the nation needed to be where the biggest hurt was - and in fact should have visited sooner.

"The prime minister's advice was probably a bit slow... he probably should have been there yesterday... we know previous leaders would have done.

"Looking after those that are hurting at the moment is the priority."

Climate crisis?

Ngarewa-Packer said the flooding drove home the seriousness of the climate crisis and the need to future-proof vulnerable communities.

"Why does it always take a tragedy for us to be able to sit there and say well, maybe, we do need to listen to the experts?"

Hpkins said the flooding was an undeniable consequence of climate change.

"You'd have to have your head buried in the sand to not recognise the fact that what were previously once-in-a-hundred-year events are now happening all of the time," he said.

But NZ First leader Winston Peters dismissed some of the "alarmism" linking the flooding to climate change.

"It's not new. We've had higher tides. I've seen them myself as a younger boy," Peters said.

In a remarkable acknowledgement, Peters said the government had not done enough to prepare communities for such disasters:

"I'm just giving you the honest answer... we'll have clear plans going forward to do better and do more with the New Zealand people."

Green co-leader Marama Davidson told reporters the government had neglected to invest in infrastructure to protect communities from extreme weather events.

"That impacts on real people's lives and loss of livelihood."

Kamaka Manuel, spokesperson for the Tumuaki of the Rātana Church, acknowledged whānau across the North Island who have been impacted by flooding and landslips over the past few days.

"Our thoughts and our prayers go out to our whānau that are in those areas and for the whānau that are experiencing loss as a result of those horrific events that have happened in the last 24 hours," he said.

Despite the devastation elsewhere, Manuel said the celebrations at Rātana Pā have proceeded well, with Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po and the new Ariki of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Rangimaheu Te Heuheu Tukino IX, welcomed onto the marae this morning.

"It's been lovely to have them all here and return to Rātana Pā."

Manuel said this year the hui has returned to older traditions, with 24 January dedicated to rangatahi celebrations.

"As a young fella growing up here, the 24th was a sport parade in the morning and we would all get on the parade and donate our colours of where we came from. Obviously pertinent to our hāhi. And it's going to be a wonderful opportunity for my own mokopuna to be a part of that and relive some of those childhood memories of their koroua," he said.

He said the return to these traditions allows mōrehu to come together ahead of the founder's birthday on 25 January, while placing rangatahi at the heart of the celebrations.

Manuel said the hui also symbolises the importance of Māori unity.

"Today's coming together and arrival of our Queen and also our Ariki really, really symbolises just how important the kotahitanga o te iwi Māori is, in this aspect."

While the Prime Minister will not attend due to ongoing weather disasters across the North Island, Manuel said the kaupapa of Rātana remains unchanged, with the Māori Queen and Ariki still participating and political parties being welcomed.

"We've already seen the Queen herself initiate a pathway that is of a view to really showing the powerfulness of kotahitanga amongst te iwi Māori," he said.

"For us, it's around ensuring that we are conducive to those efforts and that we are continuing to be unified and support...ensuring that our value system is also brought in parcel and parcel with that mana motuhake."

Manuel said Rātana continues to be regarded as the first national hui of the Māori calendar.

"We're excited to see what our rangatahi have prepared. They're feeling quite empowered to be able to have a strong input into the running of the hui," he said.

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