Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis arrive at Rātana celebrations. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Friday's Rātana celebrations will be a chance for the prime minister to front up to Māori, a Māori leader says.
Followers of the Rātana Church, called mōrehu, gather at the small settlement south of Whanganui each year in January to celebrate the birthday of the movement's founder, Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, on 25 January.
The annual celebrations traditionally mark the start of the political year as politicians arrive to pay tribute to the movement and engage with Māori leaders.
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Rātana was known for its longstanding alliance with the Labour Party, with candidates from a Rātana background holding the Māori seats for several decades.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer won the Te Tai Hauāuru seat, of which Rātana Pā is a part, at the last election.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and members of other political parties will be welcomed at midday.
Luxon will be in attendance along with Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins and members of New Zealand First and the Green Party.
The celebrations at Rātana traditionally mark the start of the political year. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai
ACT is the only party not attending the celebrations.
Tainui leader Tuku Morgan told RNZ the gathering would be a chance for the prime minister to front up to Māori.
"He may not be fronting up in Waitangi, he made that clear, but he can't run forever."
Luxon's decision to skip Waitangi commemorations was a symbol of the government's inability to find "meaningful solutions" for Māori issues, Morgan said.
"Right now, anything meaningful has been crushed and annihilated."
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer at this week's Rātana celebrations. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai
The Prime Minister said he enjoyed going to Rātana, adding it was not a deeply political occasion.
"My message will be really about how do we move forward as a country a little bit, how do we make sure we respect the Treaty, how do we respect each other? It doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything, but actually it means we should still be very focussed on the goal of making New Zealand better," Luxon said.
He said there were "a number of opportunities" regarding where he would attend Waitangi commemorations, which would be confirmed closer to the time.
Ngarewa-Packer said the prime minister was being led by ACT, pointing to recent appointments at the Waitangi Tribunal - among them, former ACT leader Richard Prebble.
"The political landscape has shown us that the legacy of Luxon isn't a legacy that will be largely remembered positively by te ao Māori."
