'Fired up' protesters oppose government's anti-Māori policies in droves across Aotearoa

Thousands of people took to the streets across the motu to oppose government policies toward Māori, while Te Pāti Māori declared its plans to establish a Māori parliament.

It is the second time Māori have mobilised around the country with the first protest in December 2023. This time, it coincided with Budget Day.

From 6.30am, protest action played out in dozens of towns and cities including Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Some were on foot as part of hīkoi, while in Auckland there was a series of 'carkoi' - or hīkoi on wheels.

Crowds were large and loud. Tamariki held signs as big as themselves reading Toitū te Tiriti, and tino rangatiratanga flags were flying high, and draped over the shoulders of kuia.

Once again people turned out to object to the coalition government's policies - like axing Te Aka Whai Ora the Māori Health Authority, taking away local councils' right to decide to set up Māori wards, removing reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation, and the Act Party's bid to redefine the Treaty principles.

Those law changes and proposals were "really harmful", a protester in Auckland said.

• In pictures: Budget Day hīkoi

Many told RNZ they felt the coalition was quickly dismantling things they had fought long and hard for.

"All of a sudden they just come along with the click of a finger and change some of these laws," Aucklander Ethan Smith said.

"We want them to have a sit down with us, have a bit of a deeper kōrero, so we can thrash out these issues and come to a better resolution for everybody."

There was something wrong with a country that kept having to learn the same lessons, Denise Messiter said in the capital.

"We thought that we were together as a country, as a democracy, that we're prepared to look after and protect our mokopuna. Now they're here on the streets marching for us, that's how dangerous this country is."

Whānau had "had enough" and were "fired up" said another in Christchurch.

Strength in numbers

The response to Te Pāti Māori's call for nationwide protests was heartening, Northland Māori ward councillor Phoenix Ruka said.

Whangārei's hīkoi of more than 1300 people was almost double the size of last December's protest, he said.

"I was blown away by the amount of whānau that was here today, getting photos and updates from all the hīkoi up and down Aotearoa and it's immense, the presence is immense and so we're proud, we're grateful, we're humbled."

Pākehā - or tangata tiriti (people of the Treaty) - also turned out to support Māori.

It was important they too stood up for the cause, Christine Moriarty in Wellington said.

"I'm here because this government has no social conscience, and I think [it] has misread the feeling of the country over Māoridom."

A North Shore man said: "I think Māoridom and Māoritanga is one of the most unique and special things about New Zealand, and if we lose that, then what are we really doing?"

Time for a Māori parliament

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi addressed the thousands who gathered on Parliament's lawn.

"It's the biggest honour of our lives to serve you," Ngarewa-Packer said through tears.

Parliament had let Māori down, she said.

"This place ... has dismantled the hard work that our tupuna ... our leaders did before us."

It was time to create a Māori parliament, Waititi said.

"The time has passed, and we have been late to the game, but we are here now," he said.

"It is time for us to step comfortably and courageously into rangatiratanga."

The pair asked people to sign their Declaration for Political Independence, which they would take to a hui taumata at Omahu Marae in Hastings on Friday.

A poster for the hui said leaders from across Māoridom would meet to "decide how we meet national Māori unity".

In a statement,Te Pāti Māori issued a declaration "to assert Māori sovereignty as affirmed and protected in He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi."

It said an independent Māori parliament would be "anchored in our tikanga and kawa, focussed entirely on mokopuna livelihood... [and transform] Aotearoa into a nation which respects the tino rangatiratanga of tangata whenua and creates a safe home for all peoples".

Te Pāti Māori said the huge turnout during the protests proved there was a desire for a Māori-led parliament.

"We will no longer let decisions made by this house determine our oranga. The oranga of our people, our mokopuna the land and te iwi Māori katoa," the declaration said.

"We now begin the process of establishing our own parliament. Our people will design what this looks like for us, nobody else."

Greens, Labour offer support

Among those meeting protesters at Parliament were Green and Labour party members.

"It's just magnificent. We love to see this sort of gathering and it's appropriate because this is a government that is not prioritising Māori funding," Labour MP Willie Jackson said.

"Today is about unity, is about people coming together and dreaming of a better future and a different system," Greens' Kahurangi Carter said.

"People really showed up today, we can see how strong we are in unity."