Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Rawiri Waititi is to follow the Maori King’s lead.
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Karla Akuhata
HE may have stood as the Labour party’s candidate in the Waiariki electorate in 2014 but Rawiri Waititi has decided to follow the Maori King’s lead and cast off any political allegiances.
Mr Waititi, who works for Te Whanau a Apanui’s tribal organisation, is an avid supporter of the Kingitanga movement and was at the Koroneihana celebrations at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruwahia earlier this month when the Maori King, Tuheitia Paki, delivered his annual speech.
In the speech, King Tuheitia announced he would no longer be voting for the Labour party, which had traditionally always had the backing of the Kingitanga and its leader, because Andrew Little had declared they would not be prepared to work with the Maori Party. He also encouraged the Maori Party and Mana to work together in bid to claim political sovereignty for tangata whenua.
Mr Waititi said the speech was inspirational and as a result he wanted to follow the Maori King’s lead.
He said he had not been part of the Labour party since the election and he was joining the call for the Maori Party and Mana, under Hone Harawira, to unite.
“I heard in the King’s speech to really start thinking about how we are going to get our self-determination in politics.
“This is bigger than party allegiances this is about moving Maori forward. The King has opened the door for that and all we need to is go through it and go through it together.”
King Tuheitia’s speech follows the appointment of a former adviser and spokesperson for the Maori King, Tukoroirangi Morgan, as president of the Maori Party. Mr Morgan has been reported as having made it his mission to win all Maori seats from the Labour Party, and has reached out to Mr Harawira to help achieve his goal.
However, Mr Waititi said he didn’t have political allegiances to any political party and hadn’t decided whether he would put his name forward again to become a candidate for any party.
He said he didn’t have any concerns with the Maori King delving into politics, even though in the past the Kingitanga movement has always been described as being apolitical.
“I support kotahitanga (unity) which is what the Kingitanga is all about.
“It is not about putting someone on a throne like the fairy tales that have come out of England all those years ago.
“This is about the unity of our people. It is about even more than Tuheitia.
“It is about the Kingitanga as an institution to come together under our own terms.
“The Kingitanga is about the unity of our people.”