Kotahitanga will not be forged through silence in the court of Kiingi Tūheitia

Comment: Kiingi Tūheitia’s tangihanga was a markedly different scene from the last time most political leaders travelled to Tūrangawaewae, just a fortnight ago.
His Koroneihana (coronation anniversary celebration) was a chance for fiery political debate at a time when Government policies were stoking division. Wednesday’s tangi was not supposed to be about all that; politics was supposed to be put to one side.
But just enough pointed comments from Māori leaders would have reminded the Government that if it wants to get anywhere close to the kotahitanga, or unity, the country has been talking about since Tūheitia’s death, there is still much to do.
Just over two weeks ago, Waikato-Tainui leader Rahui Papa stood on the same paepae and told the Prime Minister to “get rid of the Māori bashing racist bills, policies and procedures in this Government”.
Papa named changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act: “Mess with our mokopuna and we will not sit quietly.” And Māori leaders made frequent reference to David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill.
Wednesday was different. 
The sixth day of the king’s tangi was a chance for politicians, the judiciary and foreign diplomats to mark the life and death of a leader who advocated for a better future for tamariki and mokopuna, through unity.
Over the week since Tūheitia’s death, politicians have spoken fondly of the king’s advocacy for unity – a sentiment that’s easy for those in Wellington to espouse in paying tribute to a respected rangatira, but harder to live up to once the tangi is over. 
Wednesday wasn’t a day for politics, but as coalition partners and outspoken leaders descended on the marae, it was clear they were never going to keep all the politics away.
Even the evening’s entertainment included a haka about the Treaty of Waitangi and jokes that people wanted to “see less, not see more” of David Seymour.
With Christopher Luxon overseas, Winston Peters led the coalition Government delegation to Ngāruawāhia. But the NZ First leader did not speak on the paepae – in fact, he left before the end of proceedings; something the 79-year-old acting Prime Minister also did at Koroneihana a fortnight ago.
Instead, senior NZ First MP Shane Jones spoke on behalf of Government ministers.
Flanked at the time by his “Rangatira Winston”, and other senior ministers, including Seymour, Shane Reti, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis, Mark Mitchell, Tama Potaka, Karen Chhour and Nicole McKee, Jones paid tribute to Tūheitia.
In te reo Māori, he said the king devoted his life to making sure te ao Māori was heard and valued and if anyone was able to unite a divided country, he was the one that had the ability to do so.
“On behalf of all of the ministers and our government, I bring prayers, aroha and words of comfort for the  … totara tree who has fallen,” he said.
Jones quoted scripture, saying it is better to give than to receive.
“And he gave so much towards the latter stages of his life; he provided a platform, not only for our various iwi, but to enable people to air their anxieties and their concerns. That is no mean task.”
And while the outspoken minister’s kōrero was focused on Tuheitia, his grieving whānau, and reflecting on the personal connections between the Kiingitanga and NZ First that “politics often washes away”, he couldn’t help but stir the pot before stepping away from the microphone.
In a reference to his critical comments of the judiciary and the Waitangi Tribunal, for which the Attorney-General recently reprimanded him, Jones finished his speech by leaning towards the controversy he so often courts: “I came here today to salute the king, not to talk about judges.”
Jones’ comments didn’t go unnoticed by the bench, who showed up in force, with representatives of all the courts, including the Waitangi Tribunal.
Both Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu and the country’s first Māori judge appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Joe Williams, spoke on behalf of the judiciary.
Taumaunu reflected on the meaning of kotahitanga.
“I suggest, like a tree, there’s going to be many different branches; many different interpretations; many components of this idea of kotahitanga.”
But he finished by referring back to Jones’ criticisms of the bench.
“There’s a trap for young players that I want to avoid, and should be able to avoid it successfully. When someone lays down a little bit of bait on the atea [marae courtyard], then you would be foolish to be a fish; you should be a whale.”
Other current and former politicians spoke on the paepae throughout the day, including Labour leader Chris Hipkins, former minister Aupito William Sio, Green Party MP Teanu Tuiono. The 68-year-old former Māori Party co-leader and Māori development minister Te Ururoa Flavell led a rousing haka, and an impassioned speech, on behalf of Te Kura o Tipene (St Stephen’s School) where Tuheitia went to school.
But the most anticipated performance – at least during the day’s formalities – came from Act’s Seymour.
The Act leader was criticised for not attending Tūheitia’s 18th Koroneihana, and while the sentiment may have been that Seymour was a fortnight late and a few bucks short, his decision to travel to Tūrangawaewae on Wednesday was acknowledged by the Kiingitanga.
Before Seymour spoke, he was welcomed by kaikōrero Jeremy Tātere Macleod.
“Honourable David Seymour, welcome to Tūrangawaewae. If this is perhaps your first visit, it is with bitter sadness that you weren’t able to be here two weeks ago and to spend some time with our king, but you’ve arrived today,” he said.
“Welcome to Tūrangawaewae, welcome to the cauldron of Māori debate, welcome to the headquarters of the Kiingitanga movement. A movement that was established some 166 years ago as a response to some terrible, challenging and heinous times experienced by the people not only of this tribe but around the country.
“Today is about custom and welcoming the visitors of the king here to this marae.”
But Macleod didn’t relinquish the paepae before taking a jab at Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, by way of a response to Jones’ quoting of biblical scripture.
Macleod quoted from the bible in te reo Māori, before saying: “And I won’t dare try and translate it. Heaven forbid there’s any ambiguity in my translation and I get it wrong.”
Then a very different Seymour stood to speak than the one who walks the halls of Parliament.
A minister who appeared humbled, if not nervous, stood before the microphone – in front of Tūheitia’s wife Makau Ariki – and said while he couldn’t hope to match the oratory in te reo Māori already heard, he wanted to leave a message in tribute to Tūheitia.
Seymour then slowly stepped his way through a short speech in te reo Māori.
“We come here today to share in so much pain and so much love for the grieving family who are living in so much pain right now,” he said.
“Go into the long sleep of death and sleep in the comforting arms of your ancestors, your land and your king.”
Wrapping up the day’s formalities, Waikato-Tainui’s Rahui Papa told Seymour there was some consternation about Koroneihana, “but your arrival here today has allayed all of that, we honour you for fronting up at a very very important time in the lifespan of the Kiingitanga.
“We hope that you’ll take something away from today, that we’re not that scary and we can have the discussion face to face, because we’ll look after you, David. You have come to show your aroha and your words to Kiingi Tuheitia today and we respect that,” he said.
Papa left Seymour with a reminder that the conversation wasn’t over.
“We said we’re not going to talk politics, and at this point there’s no ‘but’. Because Kiingi Tūheitia said our kotahitanga shouldn’t be focused on fighting the government, actually we should be forging a waka that we can all work together.”
Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee expanded on this idea, when he said he was struck by the words that there was enough room in the waka for everyone.
“So today, the mighty totara has fallen, and I hope that from that mighty totara, there is a waka that is carved with a place for all of us. And that we might remember in that simple analogy that he put to us, that no waka moves forward without all the paddles going in the same direction.”
During the past week, Kiwis who met Tūheitia have described someone who was often quiet; someone who listened. Te Kiingi has been remembered as a deep thinker, with a long memory that helped him imagine a vision for Aotearoa that spanned political cycles and generations.
As Tūheitia is laid to rest on Thursday, and the new monarch is chosen, there will be questions about how that leader will help forge a path towards unity, and whether the politicians of the day will listen for long enough to get everyone pulling in the same direction.