Waitangi Day: record crowds expected amid tensions over Māori policy in New Zealand
Share:
Event in February that commemorates signing of New Zealand’s founding document expected to draw tens of thousands but PM will not attend. Organisers of New Zealand’s national day commemorating the signing of the country’s founding treaty between Māori tribes and the British crown are expecting record attendance in 2025, following a year of rising tensions over the government’s policy direction for Māori.
In February, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on Waitangi, in New Zealand’s Northland region, to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by Māori chiefs and the British Crown in 1840 and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights.
The 2025 event is expected to exceed last year’s record attendance, when 80,000 people travelled from across the country to Waitangi. While some will be there in a show of force against the coalition government, which many fear is rolling back Māori rights and undermining the promises made in the treaty, attendance will not be entirely driven by anger, says Pita Tipene, the chair of the Waitangi National Trust, which manages the grounds and events.
“It is becoming much more a festival atmosphere … and people know they can come there, bring their children and grandchildren and have a good time.”. Still, Tipene hopes people will reflect on what the day means. The Waitangi event is as much a festival as it is a forum for political discussion about sovereignty, equality and history. It has often been the scene of demonstrations, with Māori protesting against the lack of progress made in tackling inequality and ongoing breaches of the treaty.
