By Ashleigh McCaull, RNZ News journalist
Aotearoa New Zealand’s capital Wellington Pōneke turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed Parliament’s lawn and onto the streets.
Supporters then headed to Waitangi Park, where a post-hīkoi concert took place.
Thousands of supporters already at Parliament greeted the hīkoi when it entered the gates, with haka and the sound of the pūtātara (Māori shell trumpet) ringing out across the lawn.
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42,000 people at Parliament during Hīkoi. Video: RNZ News
Among the dignitaries towards the front of the hīkoi was Māori Queen Nga wai hono i te po, who stood alongside Hone Harawira, Tuku Morgan and Te Pati Māori MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke.
Fireworks were let off several times at Parliament.
One kuia told RNZ she was happy the Hīkoi stayed peaceful and did not end up like the anti-mandate protest at Parliament more than two years ago.
Horomona Horo travelled from Waikato in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill.
“The purpose of it is to stand up against the atrocities of not just this government, but governments of the past as well, and the discrepancies that have happened over the years.”
When asked what he thought of Treaty Principles Bill architect David Seymour’s short appearance on the forecourt, Horo said the day was not about him, but more about everyone coming together and uniting.
“At the end of the day, if you speak for your people, you need to show up. And not show up to blink an eye or two, but to actually show up in good times and bad times and in celebration as well as in times like today, where he knows he’s done wrong and he knows the things that need to happen.
“He cannot turn his words back on what he’s already said,” Horo said.
After everything wrapped up at Parliament, traffic came to a standstill as a haka broke out on on the intersection of Bunny Street and Featherston Street.
‘Kill the Bill!’
Seymour and his caucus were escorted by several police officers when they briefly ventured out to Parliament’s forecourt, and were greeted by the crowd chanting “kill the Bill”.
The ACT Party leader said yesterday that he would assess the mood of the crowd first before deciding whether or not to engage with them.
Te Pati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi was speaking to the crowd at the time Seymour came out and encouraged them to chant “kill the Bill” to give a clear message for the ACT leader.
After five minutes, Seymour turned and headed back inside the building.
Later this afternoon, the official ACT instagram page posted a video with Seymour saying this was a speech he had hoped to deliver to Hīkoi supporters who had marched from all across the motu.
“They’d see that I’m actually a New Zealander like them — in fact, one who is whakapapa Māori, who would like to see a better world with more homes being built, more infrastructure, better jobs, better health and education.
“That would be a constructive discussion to have, but sadly not one that is possible when you see New Zealand as a compact of two collectives defined by ancestry.
“It may be that we find New Zealand is not mature enough to have this discussion, I suspect that’s wrong,” Seymour said.
In response to the crowd chanting “kill the Bill”, he said he encouraged Hīkoi supporters to read the Bill.
Seymour later told RNZ Checkpoint that the Hīkoi was “not representative” of New Zealand, and only 0.2 percent of Māori were at the Parliament protest.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked before Question Time whether he would prefer the bill to be disposed of before Waitangi Day commemorations in Feburary.
“[The bill] is not something I like or support, but we have come to a compromise.
“Now, it’s in the hands of Parliament, it’s now in the hands of the select committee, they work through the timing from here on through, as they should.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters called the Hīkoi a “waste of time” as the Treaty Principles Bill was “dead on arrival”.
The Bill was fatally flawed and never going to work, he said, and Hīkoi attendees should know that.
‘I’m not worried about sales’
While the Hīkoi made its way to Parliament, business owners and staff watched and filmed from their doorways as the masses went past.
Every store RNZ visited at the time the Hīkoi was passing through was empty, but several business owners on Willis Street said they did not mind the disruption and supported the cause.
Capricorn Spirit owner Susan Cameron said the Hīkoi was for a good cause.
“I’m not worried about sales,” she said. “We’ve got to tell Parliament as a whole country that we do not stand for this.”
To those on the Hīkoi, she said: “Good on you. Well done. I wish I could be with you, but at this moment I can’t, I need to be here, but I support everything you’re standing for here.”
Meanwhile, Dixon Street coffee shop Swimsuit had to call in back-up as customer numbers were similar to the store’s busiest Saturdays.
Barista Sarah Green said five staff were on deck for 320 orders — many of which were for multiple coffees.
Flags fly high in Waitangi Park
The meeting point for the hīkoi this morning was at Waitangi Park, which was dominated by either tino rangatiratanga flags, toitu te tiriti flags or the flag for the United Tribes.
RNZ spoke to a few people on their thoughts about Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill.
“I think he’s a very arrogant man, at the end of the day he says he’s got Māori in him, he still uses white rules to try and rule the rest of the country. Well, it ain’t his land, it belongs to us. We were the first ones here so we own it. And our tipuna, they were good people but now he’s trying to do this to us and it’s not fair,” said Kathleen Mihaere.
“I don’t like him, okay? He needs to wake up and realise this is our whenua, we own this. You fellas are visitors and if you are one of us, be one of us,” said Sheena Tonihi.
“What’s good for Māori is good for everyone, we come here as peace, we love everyone no matter who you are, where you come from. But yeah, what’s good for Māori is good for everyone,” said Henare Karepe.
Before the hīkoi got underway, singer Stan Walker also went out and sang for the crowd.
The hīkoi later returned to the park from Parliament for an evening concert.
Marching before dawn
More than 2000 people set off from the Hutt Valley at about 4am this morning and met with another group coming from Porirua on Wellington’s waterfront before they marched to Parliament.
When the hīkoi reached a third of the way through the 14km journey to Wellington train station, it was met with lots of toots from passing traffic, mostly trucks at that time of the morning.
People on a passing train were videoing the hīkoi as it went by.
There were babies and elderly and hundreds of tino rangatiratanga flags flying.
Damian from Naenae said today’s hīkoi was hugely significant.
He said even though the Treaty Principles Bill was unlikely to make it past the second reading, the fact it was before Parliament at all was an injustice, and people felt that in their wairua.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.